Living Fear
by YourWeeklyApple
Summary: There is nothing to fear, but fear itself. Everyone thought of this quote as nothing, but a saying. To Rose Shlen, it meant the world to her. Follow the life of Rose as she goes through everything in the institute, and maybe... even her inner demons.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Strangers

 **A/N Hello! I am YourWeeklyApple! I have always loved fanfiction, and was tempted to get an account here. So I did. Please know I'm new so I'm not book perfect obviously, but i had a good friend of mine, McDragonRider, edit this for me. So please R &R. I love your words of wisdom! Now please enjoy!**

 **I do not own any X-Men or marvel characters, they belong to Stan Lee and Marvel. I only own Rose, Tyreese, JC, Thomas, Chance, and Shaun.**

* * *

 _Bang! Bang! Bang!_

A loud, heavy knock was heard throughout the manor making the once peaceful tone completely fade away. Immediately the house became spooky and ominous. There was nothing, but that simple sound echoed. And yet, who was it?

A tall man with shaggy brown hair and sunglasses covering his eyes arrived at the manor's entrance, yelling, "I've got it!" right before opening the door. What he didn't expect to find was two strangers, soaked to the brim and shivering madly.

The taller man was holding the small girl close to him, trying to keep her warm. His dark eyes were shining, reflecting the golden glow coming through the open door. A hint of terror and hatred also shone within them, yet at the same time a pleading look, begging for him to let them in. The small girl was unlike him. She raised a shaky hand and wiped a strand of her white hair away from her face, placing it behind her ear to reveal her bright, red eyes. They weren't like any cheesy cartoon characters red eyes however. They were kind, revealing her true personality: love.

She shivered, her lip quivering from the amount of days she had been stuck in the rain. She stared at the tall man for a long time before pleading out softly, "P-please sir… help…"

A voice rang through their heads; calm and subtle, protective and kind. "Scott… let them in… quickly."

The man, Scott, glanced at the two strangers. The one with pitch black hair looked at him, his neutral look now forced and pleading to be let in. Scott shook off the look and quickly gestured for them to come in. Both the two strangers waddled in; the girl shivering with her arms wrapped around herself while the man had his arm wrapped around her shoulder.

Scott quickly closed the door, all the while staring at the two odd people. He paused, another thought ringing through his head making him quickly say, "Follow me."

The two strangers looked at him, starting to notice the growing crowd around them, their eyes lingering on their odd grey forms. The man looked around at the crowd, his annoyance starting to grow before quickly walking off with the girl under his arm. They rushed through the halls, following Scott.

They soon arrived at a small door where Scott stood, waiting patiently for both of them. Once they appeared, he opened the door, letting them into a modest office lit by a couple of lamps. Inside sat a man in a wheelchair who was wearing a nice suit. His eyes lingered on the two of them for a moment. The man with black hair didn't like the feel of him; he felt like he was looking at more than just his appearance… more like his mind.

The older gentleman smiled and said softly, "Why hello there."

The small girl's red eyes glanced up at him. Her once terrified, pleading expression disappearing off her face, now replaced with safety and thankfulness. She spoke softly, "H-hi…"

The man smiled, then looked over at the dark headed man. His expression had the same look to it: thankfulness. The older gentleman said kindly, "My name is Charles Xavier. Who might you two be?"

The younger girl looked up at her companion waiting patiently for him to say something. He took a moment before finally clearing his throat, revealing his full crisp voice, "My name is Thomas Daniels. This is Rose Shlen. We have traveled far to get here."

Xavier took a moment, contemplating his thoughts before giving a smile and looking back out towards Scott. He said in a soft voice, "Scott, why don't you take Rose and get her dried off while I talk to Mr. Daniels here…"

Thomas flinched at hearing that. Rose could feel his arm tense around her and she looked up at him, her eyes trying to make him calm. He looked down at her; he knew that she could fend for herself. He smiled down at her and whispered softly, "Alright, go on Rose. Keep to yourself and be safe."

She smiled and walked off still holding her shivering self while Scott looked down at her and smiled, gesturing for her to follow him. When she did, Scott closed the door. Thomas watched him walk off, but then suddenly he heard a voice, "Thomas, would you now kindly like to explain why you came from the Prison in New Jersey?"

He quickly spun around on his feet looking at Xavier, surprise written on his face; he was flabbergasted. Xavier only chuckled and tapped his head. He spoke, without moving his lips. "I have telepathy Mr. Daniels. Now if you please..."

Thomas sighed with relief. So they were here. He looked down at the ground for a moment before saying, "You may want to relax, it's a long story."

…

 **Five years ago…**

The five men stood in the prison cell, chatting among themselves. One of them, was Thomas himself. He was the skinniest of the five and his four companions all varied in their looks.

One was fairly tall and bulky; his frame at least 6'7". His shaggy grey hair covered his dark steel blue eyes. His jaw had a long deep scar along with some on his bare arms.

Another was small and rather pale; his skin grey and lifeless, yet at the same time living. His spiked silver hair covered his own orange eyes and he had a giant smirk plastered onto his face.

The next was the second tallest. He had the same type of frame as the first man except that he was filled with life and very energetic. His brown hair covered up the friendly amber eyes he owned. Tattoos of all types of weapons covered his arms.

The last was the scrawniest of them all, yet taller than the second. His grey hair and odd skinny body made him appear weak. The strange metal sheet-like wings connected to his back said otherwise. A giant scar slashed across his eye, yet it wasn't enough to cover up his kind emotions.

They stood about conversing with one another; discussing themselves and how they had gotten there. They were all good friends now; being stuck in one place with the same people for three years can create the most unlikely of friendships. Especially among some of the others who had been there even longer.

 _Cuh-Clunk!_

They all looked to the cell door where a prison guard stood, taser in hand and a small person with a bag over its head.

The guard shoved the poor child into the cage letting him fall to the ground with a thud. The guard smirked and spat, "There, be with your own people. You freak."

He slammed the door closed earning a few sickened faces from the other prisoners. Particularly from the ones in the current cage. The guard laughed and walked away, gaining a few screams and curses too.

The tall man with fair grey hair took a step forward towards the trembling child on the ground. He knelt down and couldn't believe the sight before him: a child in this horrible place? It sickened him. He sighed and grabbed the child gently, trying to calm him while saying, "It's okay, kid, you can calm-"

He took off the strange sack on his head, revealing that he was actually a she. He stood there for a moment in quite a shock; the girl's crimson red eyes looking up into his own. She was trembling and tears stained her face. The tears didn't even scratch the surface of how petrified she was.

Everyone gathered around, staring at the child in shock. The first to speak was actually Thomas, he knelt down and looked into her scared innocent eyes. "It's okay… the others are gone."

At those words she burst into tears; her eyes flooded with terror and sadness. She clutched onto the large man's shirt and sobbed into it making him flinch. Not really knowing what to do, just going by instinct he slowly raised his hand and stroked her back trying to get her to calm down.

Her sobbing stopped and the next to speak was the one that was rather scrawny, "Hey, kid, what's your name?"

Her sobbing came to a halt. She looked up and stared with her now even more reddened eyes. She sniffled lightly and replied with a stutter, "R-rose… Rose Shlen."

 **Two years later…**

It turns out the tallest was named Tyreese, the second tallest was JC, the scrawny one was Shaun, and the final one was Chance. They found out that Rose had mutant abilities and that was why she was there.

The only problem… she was weak. No one liked her there except for a few people: her cell mates, whom she considered family, and a few others. They enjoyed her and Thomas had vowed to teach her, given the fact that she was only twelve. Why the prison guards had put her with the men was still unknown and every time they would ask, the guards would just turn the other cheek.

So life was normal, until one day...

Everyone sat in the cell, patiently waiting for both JC and Rose to come back from talking with one of their other friends.

It wasn't till they heard a loud moan and heavy thud that drew their attentions. They looked towards the open cell door and saw the familiar white haired girl walking towards them with a limp. JC stepped heavily behind her then slammed the door and came to the others angrily. He roared ferociously, "Freaking Fernando and his gang jumped her! I had to come and get her before they almost killed her!"

Shaun rushed to Rose, looking her over before saying in his raspy voice, "Rose, come here, I'll fix you up."

She nodded weakly, and limped with Shaun to the corner while Tyreese looked after her, his mind racing angrily. He looked back at her and turned saying, "Rose, tomorrow morning, we're waking up early."

She looked up from her wounds and asked, "Why?"

 **A year later…**

The whole group sat at lunch. Rose was talking to Tyreese about how to flank someone while everyone else actually ate. At one point, she spotted Fernando watching her and she smirked, earning a frightened look from him and his gang.

She looked back to her food before staring at it for a moment; something was speaking in her mind.

"Look at her…"

She looked up, a bit confused. She looked at her family and asked, "Did you guys say something?"

They looked up, confused by her comment. They all shook their heads and watched her oddly. Chance asked, "Rose, are you alright?"

She was lost again; the voices were coming back.

"Her and her freak friends…"

"That freak…"

"Why is she even here?"

She said suddenly, "Stop. Stop saying that."

Everyone went silent. Rose had a migraine coming on. She rubbed her temples and moaned. Tyreese asked, "Rose, you okay?"

Rose felt the pain increasing. She rubbed her temples harder. She could hear the voices get even more harsh and sinister.

"That freak…"

"She's a freak of nature…"

She stood up, her eyes glowing. She screeched, "SHUT UP!" Everything around her rumbled and backed away from her, making the room go silent. She trembled for a moment; everyone's were eyes on her trembling form. She wasn't shaking from the comments, she was shaking because of herself.

She felt something more and screeched as her monster took over.

 **Two years later…**

Rose sat in her cell. She was reading a book and her right hand played with the collar on her neck: the only thing keeping her inner demons out.

Outside the cell, the others at dinner were discussing an important topic.

"Fernando huh?" Tyreese said first. All of the others nodded. Then Thomas spoke next.

"Yes, people are disappearing from each cell block. Our's is next. From what I hear they should be here next month. I also know they take the strongest first." Everyone's face paled. Did that mean Rose would be the first?

JC spoke quickly, "We can't let that happen. You can see what happens when they come back. They're just… lifeless."

Everyone nodded in agreement. After a moment, Shaun said, "We have to do something…"

Everyone sat in thought until Thomas said, "I may have an idea…"

…

"And that's it…"

Thomas had just finished telling his story. Xavier sat there, a bit in shock. He asked quickly, already knowing the answer, but doing it just for safe measures, "What are your powers, and your friends'?"

Thomas adjusted himself in the seat that he had sat down in. He began to list off every power, "I have the power of sound. I can pick up the soundwaves and use it against people. Tyreese has literal iron skin. It didn't appear, but his skin is unpierceable and he used to be a soldier, before the mutant hunters caught him.

"Shaun is pretty obvious: he can fly. His wing aren't actually metal though. They're strong like it though and they are grey, like crows' wings. He was originally a pilot as well, but when his squadron was shot down he was the only one alive. They found him with his wings wrapped around him, protecting himself. The others thought he was a monster so they sent him to the prison, while he was still wounded. Tyreese helped him and they have been good friends ever since.

"Chance was a gangster except he originally wanted to be a surgeon. When he learned his powers consisted of transforming, his own gang betrayed him. Turned him in. He has the power of transforming his hand into knives and saws, all types of medical equipment.

"JC was a construction worker; he's great with hammers. His power is that he can create a hammer out of light. Unfortunately he used it as an easier way to do work and when his boss found out, they turned him in as well.

"I was caught in NASA. I was originally a chief scientist before I got in an accident and had to reveal my powers. They were tempted to dissect me, but the hunters came before they could; capturing me and taking me to that prison."

He ended finally and Xavier nodded. He asked, "What about Rose?"

Thomas's look faltered. He breathed heavily and said, "I don't think she would want me to speak of it."

Xavier nodded, understanding. He looked at Thomas and said, "How did you find out about this place?"

He stayed silent for a moment, trying to figure out how to best answer the question. Finally, he spoke, "Many of the men who would come to the prison would talk about your institution and how they got their children here before the hunters could get to them. We all believed this would be the best place for Rose to be raised; especially given the fact that her powers continue to grow."

Xavier nodded, searching Thomas's mind for any hint of dishonesty. He found none. Thomas didn't want Rose to suffer. These men had done nothing wrong, they just wanted their girl to be safe. Xavier smiled and nodded, before saying, "I guarantee she will be safe here."

Thomas let a smile come to his lips. He sighed with relief before he froze, glancing up towards the ceiling and saying, "I can feel the soundwaves: they're approaching. I need to leave, to lead them away."

Xavier nodded and before he could leave and say goodbye he asked, "Is there anything else I need to do, quickly?" Xavier chuckled, while tapping his head making Thomas smirk. He nodded and said finally, "Please… take care of her. For her and our sakes…"

He left and saw her sitting on the couch, now wearing some warm, grey clothes. He came to her and leaned down, grabbing her hands and smiling. He felt Rose's happy mood fade away. She shook her head and choked out, "No… please… don't go now…"

Thomas' emotions fell. He brought her into his arms, letting her her sob into his shoulder while Thomas stroked her back saying softly, "You don't let go… you keep fighting. For our sakes. These people are going to take good care of you. I promise we will meet again I swear."

Rose nodded and choked out, "I-I promise… I will try… I will…"

Thomas smiled and backed away, looking at her reddened eyes before walking away towards the entrance. He opened the door to reveal the heavy pouring rain and thundering sky. Lights flashed in the distance and the sounds of yelling could be heard. A crack of lightning illuminated the night with a single flash of light. Thomas stepped out of the door and he was off, like the flicker of a candle.

He was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Teachers and Students

 **A/N Please R &R. BTW McDragonRider edited this! **

**I do not own any X-Men or Marvel characters, they belong to Stan Lee and Marvel. I only own Rose, Tyreese, JC, Thomas, Chance, Shaun, Clare, Grace, Abigail, and Eleanor Chell. (Sorry about the majors OCness)**

* * *

" _Grooooooowl…_ " Rose snored in her sleep. Xavier had told Scott to give Rose the guest bedroom for the night while he looked for an open dorm and classes for her to take.

He had gotten all of the information needed from Thomas' thoughts. All about her life, her needs, everything except one thing: a hidden power that she was determined to keep hidden. This bothered him greatly.

It wasn't until Scott entered the guest bedroom to see her half drooled face that he realized that they had a new student. Xavier had told him to wake her early, get her breakfast, give her a tour, and then get her moved in with her new dorm mates.

He chuckled at seeing her passed out form before yelling, "Wake up! C'mon kiddo, let's wake up!"

She flailed around suddenly falling off of the bed with a thud. Scott snickered with enjoyment, until he saw her head pop up from the other side of the bed, an annoyed look glued to her face. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, seeing that it was only Scott.

He then said, "C'mon kid. Time for breakfast. Get dressed and ready. I'll be outside waiting for you."

Rose smiled and nodded, while Scott walked out of the room.

 **…**

Scott was zoning off, until he heard the sound of a door open. He glanced over to see Rose shyly coming out with a grey shirt and black sweatpants on. Her long, shimmering white hair was wrapped in a grey cloth. She also apparently still refused to wear shoes.

Scott raised a brow, before ignoring it and letting her be herself. He chuckled, "Ready to go?"

She nodded quietly. Scott nodded back and began to walk away with Rose in the back. She stuck close to him, not liking the strange looks she was receiving. She cowered a little and after a minute they finally reached the kitchen where a few people already sat.

Scott came to the fridge and pulled out a few bars and tossed one to her saying, "Have one, they're protein bars. I'll take you on a tour of the whole school afterwards."

Rose stayed silent and nodded, taking the bar and following Scott to a table where he sat down with two others. A woman with white hair, like her own, and a woman with red hair. Scott smiled and introduced Rose to them. They smiled towards her kindly.

 **…**

It turned out their names were Eleanor Chell and Ororo Munroe. Two of the teachers she would most likely have. They had given her a few 'pop' quiz questions, revealing that she was about as smart as a senior in high school. Thomas had taught her her whole life; being one of NASA's chief scientists came with a few perks in teaching.

They decided to speak with Xavier about putting her in higher level classes, at least with the Juniors. She proved to be quite the brain in math and science; definitely going to be with the higher level classes then.

Scott had now taken her out to tour the campus, greeting other teachers and visiting classes. Rose stayed silent, too scared to speak. Except for one room…

It had large, metal walls and a high ceiling. Rose looked around, a bit curious. Scott saw her odd looks and smiled. He said calmly, "This is the Danger Room. All of the teachers share the authority here."

Rose looked up at him, a bit confused. She tilted her head a little and asked, "What do you do here?"

Scott glanced down at Rose, who was looking around with amazement. Scott smiled and answered, "It's where we learn more about our mutant capabilities, and use them to help others. We work in groups and find out a little bit more about ourselves too."

Scott was expecting Rose's face to go into a state of excitement, but to his dismay, it paled. She looked around nervously now; at every crack and burn mark in the wall, realizing that they were all self caused. Swallowing dryly, and looking at Scott, she asked softly, "Can we go now?"

Scott looked down at her oddly. Was she nervous? He nodded with a hint of confusion and walked out, with Rose following rather closely.

 **…**

Both Rose and Scott waltzed into Xavier's office. Xavier was sitting at his desk, going over some papers with another person who was in the room.

A younger girl with bright brown hair and tiny streaks of colors in it sat by his desk. She spun around to reveal her completely cheerful complexion. Her face was littered with freckles and her eyes were both different colors.

Her left eye was a mixture of colors. The bottom being dark blue, the upper right being purple, and the upper left being a forest green. Her right eye was the same type of swirls of colors. Her bottom part being red, her upper right being orange, and her upper left being a bright, sun yellow.

To top it all off, she had multiple types of drawing on her arms. Not tattoos, but self drawn pictures. And dang… they were good. The one that stood out the most to Rose was the one on her inner right arm: a picture of space. It was beautiful. She was mesmerized for a moment before Xavier drew her attention back.

" _Done examining?_ " He spoke to her telepathically, causing her to look up a bit embarrassed. She looked down shyly, and looked back up where Xavier began to speak.

"Now Rose, this is Grace. She and her roommates have offered to share their dorm with you, since their past roommate left for college. She will help you from class to class and I have given you and her friends similar classes." Rose's face paled a little. She looked at him pleadingly, but he didn't notice, even with his telepathy.

Grace skipped up to Rose, smiling happily. She waved and said a little too cheerfully, "Hi! So you're the newbie, right? Yep, you're the one! Here follow me! You're going to love my friends!"

She began to ramble off while grabbing Rose's wrist and walking out of the room. Rose was tugged along and she gave one last pleading look to Scott, who only chuckled in response. She gave a look of horror as the doors slammed shut.

Scott was about to walk off as well before Xavier spoke, "Scott, do me a favor." Scott, looked around to see his mentor watching him, his eyes begging him to listen. Scott nodded and Xavier continued, "Watch Rose. Make sure she is safe, and fitting in. If anything unusual happens, contact me immediately."

 **…**

"You're going to looove my roommates, Clare and Abigail! They are so cool!" Grace continued to storm through the halls towards her dorm, with a very annoyed Rose in tow. Rose tugged on her arm, finally having enough of her talking and ranting.

She pleaded, "Can you please let go?"

Grace came to a sudden halt, making Rose almost run into her. Rose stumbled back a little, Grace's iron grip still on her wrist. She had suddenly gone silent. Rose tilted her head, wondering why she went silent. Grace began to give off a low, awkward laugh. Letting go of Rose's grip, she turned to face her. She rubbed the back of her head and apologized, "Sorry, I get a little carried away sometimes."

Rose looked at her, a bit taken aback. So obviously she had some going overboard problems… well she could adapt to that at least. Not too hard given that she had lived in a prison most of her life.

Finally they arrived at the room and a lot of noise could be heard coming from within. Grace pounded on the door and screeched, "Let me in! The new girl's here!"

Rose twitched at the sudden attitude in her voice. _Click!_ The door swung open, revealing a girl with bright red hair. She smiled and said happily, "Hi! I'm Clare! C'mon in!"

She stepped back for them both enter. Once Rose did, she was in shock, to say the least. The room looked like a rainbow had taken a number two or a unicorn threw up its last meal of butterflies. Or in english… it was colorful.

Rose looked around at the room, until the same girl who greeted them spoke up, "Abigail, c'mere and meet the new girl!"

Rose spun around. Meeting the emerald green eyes of the girl. Now trying to take in her features. She had chin length, curly, red hair. And her clothes to say the least… were very bright… not rainbow room bright, but a good amount of neon. Her lips were also a bright red too and plastered onto them was a kind, innocent smile.

To her surprise a second girl came out, this one far more intricate than the others. She had pale skin, which reminded her of Chance, and dark, pitch black hair. It made her have a very vampire-esque appearance, not to mention her blood red eyes and sharp canines.

They all greeted her kindly, doing the same and taking in her features. Rose stayed silent, waiting for one of them to speak first. Finally the girl with red hair spoke up, "I'm Clare! That's Abigail, and I believe you've met Grace…"

Grace smiled and cheered happily with Rose still standing there silently. She took a deep breath and managed to state calmly, "I'm Rose."

Abigail gasped and said, in a tone of awe, "Your voice is so magnificent!"

Everyone agreed. Except for Rose. She wasn't exactly sure how to act. Being raised around males all her life made it incredibly awkward. She had only spotted another female during medical check ups. It was all way too new. Rose shrugged and looked around, trying to spot her bed. She asked politely, something Shaun taught her, "Could you point out my bed, please?"

Grace came close and pointed to the bottom right bunk. There were two bunk beds, but big enough for their own wall space. So each bunk was painted, and had its own unique pictures on it. She peered at it for a moment and nodded, slowly walking towards it and pulling the covers back, to only scream in response.

She fell back and scooted away in shock. A tiny origami robot jumped from the covers and fell off the bed, transforming into a miniature airplane and flying to Grace. After landing on her shoulder, it transformed back into its tiny origami robot mode. It made a whirring sound and went to hide in Grace's neck. Grace chuckled, while Rose looked exasperated.

Grace stated, too calmly, "I'm sorry. This is PaperCut, our little friend. He normally enjoys to sleep in your bed, so he was just napping. Sorry, for the scare you got."

Rose still sat there in shock. They obviously weren't grasping the thought. She stated, as calmly as possible, "Um… I'm sorry, but I'm still confused on how it's… he's... alive."

The three girls burst into laughter. Grace straightened up, tiny PaperCut holding on for dear life. She pretended to be crying and wiped away a stray tear while stating, "Isn't it obvious?" No. "I created him!"

Rose looked at Grace, complete confusion clawing at her heart. She said in a straight voice, "What?"

Everyone went silent. Grace made her own face. She said calmly, "What do you-" She face palmed, " _Ooooh_ yeah… you're new… sorry. I created him. It's my power. Whatever I draw or fold together becomes alive." _Oh yeah… this was a mutant school…_

Rose nodded, still a bit new to the whole situation. She looked at the trembling Origami robot and now she felt a little sorry. She made a quirked expression and said calmly, "I'm sorry for scaring you PaperCut…"

PaperCut stopped trembling and looked at Rose, his featureless face making him even more adorable. He looked at her for a moment, before jumping up and transforming into the same little airplane and then flying over to Rose. He transformed on her own shoulder and gently hugged her neck with his tiny little arms, making her smile.

Grace smiled her own joyous one and said, "He doesn't do that much. He must like you."

Rose smiled. She knew she would get along with this little guy. She was about to raise her hand and scratch the little guys neck nicely before Abigail stepped forward and asked, "Well, how about we introduce ourselves to you? Since you're pretty well acquainted with Grace. We'll tell you what our power is. How's that sound?"

Rose nodded. She liked that idea. So then Abigail continued, "Well, as you can see… I'm like a vampire. Only differences are that I can go out in the sun, I can be killed normally, and I don't drink blood, but I am fond of anything with the color red in it. I am also able to control people when they look into my eyes and I can transform into a bat."  
Rose nodded. Pretty cool she guessed. Next to step up was Clare. She stood there proudly and stated, "I'm Clare, as you know. I can go into people's dreams. I can't physically be present, but I can watch and see what they see. I can also occasionally learn people's worst fears, when I'm in their nightmares."

Rose nodded once again. She would have to watch herself when sleeping. She looked around quietly, before going back at PaperCut and rubbing his tiny faceless helmet. He wiggled happily, which made Rose smile. All of that was normal until one single question came from Grace, "So what's your power?"

Rose's face paled. She stopped petting PaperCut making him worry on why she had stopped. Rose looked at them. They didn't know her horrors; she could tell by looking at their faces. Amazement, curiosity, wonder. Innocence. They were so weak compared to her. She didn't want to say a thing.

But she took a shaky breath and replied, "I'm a monster."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Doubts

 **A/N I am back (Again), I am not going to ive a long intro, but anyways... McDragonRider editted this! She's swag.**

 **I do not own any X-Men or Marvel characters, they belong to Stan Lee and Marvel. I only own Rose, Tyreese, JC, Thomas, Chance, Shaun, Clare, Grace, Abigail, and Eleanor Chell. (Sorry about the majors OCness)**

* * *

Rose walked into the restroom after placing PaperCut aside. She really enjoyed the little plane, he was quite the companion. Small, innocent, and adorable. She smiled at the thought.

She looked into the mirror, seeing her crimson red eyes, and her smile faded away as she remember her past. It flooded into her memories, making her eyes tear up, but she refused to cry. For their sake. For the promise. She stood there for a moment, before she heard Clare yell, "Rose! We're going to go to dinner soon, then we thought we could give you a tour of the classes you're in! So hurry up!"

Rose wiped her eyes gently, trying to get the wateriness out of them and came back out to reveal the rainbow room. She smiled at seeing her new acquaintances patiently waiting at the door. PaperCut was flying around the ceiling and she swore she could hear what sounded like a tiny voiced plane noise. She smiled and looked up at Papercut, waving goodbye. In return he spun in a circle to say his farewells. She smiled and looked at the rest of them.

She stayed silent again, waiting for one of them to speak first. Grace of course was the first to speak, "Let's get going before the guys get there. That way we can get the better seats and the better food."

Everyone nodded in response, but in the corner of Rose's mind she was excited. She would feel more comfortable around guys rather than girls. She meant no offense; it was just plain instinct. She began to walk down the halls with her new friends. The other girls laughed and talked with one another while Rose stayed silent.

She looked at Grace, once she had stopped her babbling, and asked, "Why did you make PaperCut a mini robot?"

Grace glanced back, completely forgetting their third, or rather, fourth wheel. She smiled and gestured for her to join them which Rose shyly complied with. Grace said rather awkwardly, "He… uh… was my first creation. When I was younger and started to learn origami, I was utterly obsessed with this show called _Transformers_. It was about these awesome, giant, transforming robots so I made my own little version out of paper. One night I heard the paper crinkling, I looked up, and there he was, trembling in the cold. I couldn't resist helping him."

Clare scoffed back, "That's not it…"

Grace had a slight tint of pink come to her face. She looked down awkwardly and said, "He was also based off of one of my favorite transformers… Soundwave…"

Both the other two girls burst into a fit of giggles, leaving Rose to try and figure out what a Transformer was. It wasn't until they arrived at the kitchen that she shook the thoughts away.

There were a few kids sitting about and a bunch of empty tables. She had never actually had three meals a day, normally she only ever had two: one in mid morning and another at four or five. She looked at a table and stated calmly, "I'll get a table, you guys go get your food."

Abigail smiled and spoke for all of them, "Thank you, and could you grab a table with four extra seats? We have friends coming."

Rose nodded in reply. She went off and found the nearest table with eight seats and soon her friends came back and joined her, sitting down with trays of magnificent food. They began to eat excitedly and Rose watched silently. Abigail noticed her and asked, "Do you want to get something to eat?"

Rose looked at her with doubt. She politely shook her head and said, "No thank you, I'm used to having two meals a day."

The three girls stopped their eating, looking at her with confused glances. Abigail was about to ask a question, but then the sound of a group of people walking in filled the room. Grace and Clare shot up and yelled, "Rogue, Kitty, Bobby! Over here!"

Three of the children that came in turned to face them. They all smiled, except the pale girl. Right after they had gotten their own meals, they waltzed over to them and everyone took their seats. The boy that seemed to give off a freezing aura sat on her right while Clare was to her left. She watched as they all ate and talked amongst each other. Grace gasped and said happily, "Oh! You haven't introduced yourselves to Rose! Go ahead."

 _Pretty normal thing to do_ … Rose thought to herself and she looked to the girl Grace had gestured to. She was smiling happily, nothing like the pale girl with the white streak, and she claimed happily, "I'm Kitty!"

 _Guessing her and Grace get along great, what with those personalities…_ Rose smirked to herself at her own comment. Next was the pale girl. She looked at Rose unamused. She spoke in a heavy southern accent, "Call me Rogue." She seemed really down, but Rose didn't bother to ask why.

Next to talk was the boy next to her. He smiled lightly and spoke, "I'm Bobby. What your name?"

Rose took a moment., looking down at the table where her food should have been. She twiddled with her thumbs and finally looked up and stated shyly, "I go by Rose."

They all smiled, except for Rogue, then Kitty spoke out a little too enthusiastic for her taste, "So tell us, what brings you to mutant high?"

Rose's first curious look dropped. She looked away, not wanting to answer the question, but knowing it would be rude she did her best to answer, "I… I was taken here for safety."

They all nodded, understanding. It was pretty strange. How would they understand what she's been through? None of them have ever been in her shoes. So until they've been to prison, then she'll be impressed. Rogue stated, as if to be impressive, "Yeah… I almost killed my first boyfriend…"

Rose's look dropped more. So that was why she was so moody. Well, that made sense, but if she got on her nerves, they might have a bit too many squabbles. Rose looked down and said softly, "I'm sorry about that."

Rogue looked at her and gave the faintest smile. Rose smiled back kindly, not wanting to be rude. Bobby tried to change the topic, "So tell us Rose… what's your ability?"

Rose's look faltered again. She took a deep breath and stated, very, very clearly, "I'd rather not talk about it…"

He sighed, "That bad, huh?"

Rose nodded and Rogue scoffed, "Please, when you've almost killed a man, then you'll be afraid of yourself…" _If only she knew…_ Rose thought bitterly.

Rose's mood dropped more and Clare said defensively, "Rogue, don't be rude. If Rose doesn't want to tell, then she doesn't have to tell." Rose smiled kindly towards Clare, but it didn't help the rage that built up inside her. She had to be in more control. It was her first time without her collar on after the incident. She had to be in control and aware.

Rogue leaned back in her seat, right after finishing her meal. She crossed her arms and stated rudely, "Well, I just don't see why she's so down. I mean I obviously have the worst backstory here. It's not like hers could get any worse."

 _Is she always this rude?!_ Rose scolded to herself. Rogue didn't even acknowledge her presence to speak her name. While Rose was thinking these thoughts she didn't notice her iron grip on the table's edge. She thought bitterly of Rogue, trying her best to actually hide away her anger.

" _Why is she staring at me like that?_ " Rogue was looking straight at her, while talking. Yet what her lips said wasn't what she actually said. Rose's face went pale and every angry thought was wiped away.

Rose took a risky swallow and looked to the side where Kitty was glancing at her. " _Is she okay?_ " Rose took a shaky breath and looked down, trying to gain her real mind, not what these people spoke of. She noticed everyone slowly go silent. Next thing she knew was Clare's hand was on her shoulder.

Rose looked up to meet Clare's eyes. Clare asked, "Rose, are you alright?" Rose didn't hear her though. She only heard what her mind forced her to listen to. " _Why is she so secretive? I was too, but not as bad as her…_ "

She looked to the side. Seeing Kitty's expression. " _Why isn't she talking?_ "

" _Is she really this scarred from her past?_ " That was Bobby's voice…

" _Ugh… so she's one of those people: an attention hogger._ _"_ Rogue… she couldn't take it any longer.

Rose shot up from her seat, her hands firmly grasping the table. Everyone went silent, even their thoughts. Rose stood there for a moment, gathering her thoughts. She spoke shakily, "I… I'll be in the dorm. You can come and get me after you finish eating."

Before they could even speak, she stormed off, her mind still spinning.

…

 _Creak…_

"Mr. Xavier? C-can I talk to you?" Rose peeked into the room, her head and half of her body peering from the open door. There sat Xavier at his desk, already searching her mind for why she was there. He found it and immediately nodded.

Rose shyly came in and sat in the nearest chair. She held herself in worry. Xavier asked, even though he already knew the answer, "What do you need to discuss with me Rose?"  
Rose looked at him shyly, she knew he was a telepath, but she wasn't yet ready to confirm it. She looked down at his desk, examining it while saying softly, "Y-you know of my powers… correct sir?" She brought her gaze up, to be met with the shaking of agreement. She looked back down and spoke again, "I… I don't know if I can control it."

Xavier looked at her for a moment. He frowned and asked, "And why is that?"

Rose looked up, a bit annoyed to be honest. She spoke lowly, "I believe you are already aware, sir." She tapped her head in response, giving off the weakest of smiles.

Xavier chuckled in response and nodded. He agreed, "Indeed. But why, I want to hear this from your view, not your mind's."

Rose looked down shyly. She answered softly, but just loud enough for him to hear, "It's just… ever since two years ago… my life was normal. I know most mutants were taught to control their powers, but I was under close watch at all times. From the energy reducing collar to the five guards that would monitor me 24/7. I'm just afraid I might hurt someone now that I don't have control…"

Xavier nodded. He understood that Rose had been through a lot throughout her life, never feeling free and in control. Xavier would really have to help her and he swore he would. He adjusted himself in his wheelchair, trying to figure out exactly what to say next.

"Rose," he started, "I can assure you that here, you will not get into trouble. And if one of the students are pushy, then I will speak with them personally, but I guarantee that you will be in even more control by staying here with us and learning about your abilities. After all, on your schedule I assigned you a specific class with me."

Rose gave a tiny giggle in response. She smiled, which was a great sign to the professor. Rose answered kindly, "Thank you Mr. Xavier."

Xavier chuckled and said, "Please, just call me Professor." Rose's smile became a little brighter and she nodded happily. Xavier adjusted himself once again and said, "Now then… I believe Clare, Abigail, and Grace are searching for you at the dorms. You go along now. Have a great day."

Rose nodded happily, and went to the door, right before she left she heard the kindest of voices speak to her in her own mind, " _Remember to stay strong Rose… it's what they would want._ "

She spun around to meet Xavier's eyes meeting hers. She smiled kindly, knowing he had intended for her to hear it. Without even moving her mouth she spoke.

" _Yes, Professor._ "

…

Rose walked into the dorm, to see all of the girls flailing about. Little PaperCut was soaring rapidly from room to room, filled with worry for his new friend. She giggled to herself at seeing the tiny airplane, but it was loud enough for him to hear.

PaperCut spun around and soared to her at such a fast pace, that he transformed in mid air. He tackled, or attempted to tackle, Rose. He snuggled into her chest. Tiny arms wrapped as far as they could on her front side. She smiled and was about to pet the tiny paper robot, when all the girls yelled at once, "ROSE!"

Grace sprinted forward and actually tackled her to the ground. Rose fell on her back and rubbed the back of her head, hearing Grace's multiple apologies. Rose laughed a little and sat up, PaperCut now snuggling into her neck. She smiled and said calmly, "Hey guys, sorry for the little startle."

Grace burst out, "Are you kidding?! We thought you were dead!" Rose flinched at the sudden outburst, knowing that she sort of deserved it.

Clare sighed and pulled Grace off of her. She stated calmly, "We didn't think you were dead. We were just worried, especially after what had happened in the -"

Abigail cut her off, "AKA, where the heck were you?"

Rose got to her feet, PaperCut now sitting on her shoulder. She smiled and stated calmly, "I just had to ask someone a question. I got my answer and I feel better. I'm sorry about dinner, I was just a little stressed."

Everyone smiled and shrugged to themselves. Abigail said kindly, "It's alright, I totally understand. It's pretty stressful on your first day. If you don't want to talk about something, we get it, but if you need help with anything come get us. We're here for you."

Rose smiled. It was good to have friends again. She never really had any in the prison, except her family. What she would give to see them again…

She felt PaperCut gently tugging on her hair and she smiled, lifting him up so she could pet him again. He wiggled around happily. Grace said rather quickly, drawing Rose out of her current thoughts, "How about we give you a run through of your classes now? We can teach you everything and compare schedules!"

Rose smiled lightly and answered, "Yeah. Sure."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Classes

 **A/N I don't really have much to say at the moment... Except for the fact that McDragonRider is an awesome human being. Please R &R!**

 **See something familiar, Stan Lee and Marvel! See something that falls into the categories odd, strange, unknown, or just plain weird? That would be mine.**

* * *

Rose didn't grab onto the subject of classes at all. She had done a full run through of both days about twenty times and learned her courses front and back, but she still didn't completely understand it. The only things she did grasp was the color coding of days and how that affected the class.

On blue days she had Science first period with Miss Munroe. Then to Geometry with Scott. Lunch. Third period confused her, she had Theatre. Theatre. She didn't have an ounce of acting inside of her, but if Xavier put it down then it was happening. She ended the day with a class taught by Xavier. She wasn't quite sure what Biophysics meant, but she guessed that it was something closely related with mutants in his class.

The other days would comprise of first period in history with Miss Chell. Second period was Language Arts with someone named Emma Frost. Third period was a class dealing with technology with someone by the name of Mr. Arlington, and the last… the danger room. She didn't like it one bit.

She felt someone touch her shoulder, causing her to flail about and fall off the bunk. When she sat up, she heard a series of giggles. She looked up and noticed that it was just her friends trying to wake her. She frowned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. They continued to giggle, until Abigail said, "Wake up sleepy-puss. It's time for your first class. We thought we'd wake you up early, so you have enough time to get ready."

 _Well… at least they thought about me_ … Rose thought to herself. She felt the familiar feeling of paper against her neck and she looked over to see that PaperCut was already sitting on her shoulder. She smiled and rubbed his neck, making him wiggle around a little.

She looked back at her acquaintances noticing that they were already dressed and ready to go. She smiled and stood up, hearing a series of pops before finally deciding she was good. She quickly grabbed some clothes and sprinted towards the bathroom, doing one of the fastest 'getting yourself together' situations ever. She stumbled out of the bathroom, hopping on one foot, for she was trying to figure out how to put on a shoe; the ones they had at the prison were all paper.

Everyone giggled and PaperCut raced to her shoulder, sitting atop it and hugging Rose one last time. Rose placed her hand over him in the form of a hug, careful not to squish his fragile form. He then flew off her shoulder and transformed, going to the ceiling to fly around.

She walked towards her friends and followed them out and to the mess hall, where they all sat about chatting for a little until it was time for class.

Rose was extremely nervous. She looked at the classroom door, took a deep breath and entered. She saw a few kids were seated already; she didn't recognize anyone, except for the teacher.

Ororo saw her and smiled, gesturing for her to come in. Rose slowly stepped in and came to her desk. Ororo gave her a few books and a quick explanation.

"We are going to be starting a new unit. It should be pretty obvious. If you have any questions tell me. Alright?"

Rose nodded silently and sat down in her small desk, sitting there silently and looking at the textbook cover. She opened it up and began to examine the pages.

 **…**

Rose was passed out on the desk; her brain hurt after that long class. She had gotten everything easily and remembered every word she said, but she was just tired.

It wasn't until she felt a nudge on her shoulder that she was fully aware. She looked up to see Ororo smiling down at her. Ororo said softly, "It's time for your next class, I suggest you get a move on."

Rose hopped up, remembering she was in school. She apologized, "I'm sorry, I'll get going."

She began to sprint out, but Ororo yelled, "Do you remember the homework?"

Rose yelled back, "Pages 264, evens, 1-38. Thank you! Bye!"

She sprinted out and towards her next class where she accidentally bumped into someone. She fell on her back and rubbed her head. Then opening her eyes, a bit irritably. Only for it to disappear when she saw that it was just Clare. She helped her to her feet and picked up her books. She started to apologize, "Sorry, I didn't- Oh! Hey Rose! Where you heading?"

Rose smiled and answered, "To geometry. You?"

She smiled happily and said, "Same! Do you have Scott?" Rose nodded happily and Clare continued, "Great! Wanna follow me?"

Rose nods and they skip off to class. Where they got there and entered. Seeing Scott at the front. He gestured to their seats. Rose in the front and Clare in the back. Scott placed a book in front of her and smiled. Rose's jaw dropped while staring at the pile. She looked up and choked out, "Another set of books?"

Scott chuckled and said, "I recommend you go and find a knapsack some time." He smiled kindly and continued on as he noticed all of the students wander in, "Hello class! Find a seat. My name is Mr. Summers and welcome to geometry."

 **…**

Rose was sitting there; she had just finished reading the entire first three chapters. Xavier refused to put her in with the seniors so he put her in the junior level, even though she knew everything. So she rushed through the textbook, already understanding the current lesson.

 _Bing!_

The bell rang and she looked up to see the class begin to filter on out. She watched happily, then got up and was met outside with Clare beside her. She helped her with her books and piled them atop her arms, making Rose give off a little oof. Clare smirked and feigned being tired. She said, "I didn't get the lesson at all. I guess that's what I get for being in a pre-ap class."

She shrugged it off and Rose shrugged too, not wanting to talk about how easy it was for her. She smiled and nodded, then asked, "Do you know where the theater room is?"

Clare nodded, while walking with Rose outside into the hall. She pointed to the right and answered calmly, "All the way down. The room on the left. Have a nice day!"

She skipped away and Rose smiled as she crawled her way down the hall, with what felt like cement blocks in her arms.

She finally came to the room, a bit surprised to find no teacher. Luckily enough, she saw some of her friends: Abigail, Kitty, and Bobby. She smiled and hobbled over to their four person table, taking a seat next to Abigail. Abigail smiled towards her in response.

Bobby chuckled and asked, "How has your day been Rose?"

Rose turned to see Bobby's curious face. She smiled and said happily, "It was great! It's been a lot of fun. Although… I don't know how fond I'll be of this class…" She looked around, a bit hesitantly, not exactly sure what to think with the strange rings and hoops on the ceiling.

Kitty laughed up a storm. She sent out a hand in a 'trust me' manner and said in the same type of fashion, "Trust me. You're going to love Kurt! He's one of the coolest teachers here in my opinion."

Rose frowned and looked down, placing her head into her arms tiredly. She moaned out, "Sure…"

 _Vworp!_

She peered up at hearing the strange, foreign noise. Her mouth went limp as she saw the alien man in the center of the room. A puff of smoke disappearing into the air around him, revealing his true form.

To put it simply… he looked like a fuzzy, blue elf. His pointed ears and not to mention his fuzzy blue skin with strange markings all around it. He even had a little devil tipped tail and strange, inhuman, yellow eyes. He looked incredible! Rose was mesmerized by him for a moment. She wondered how he had gotten in since she hadn't heard the door open, or even close!

The man smiled towards his class, taking in all the familiar faces, until he came to Rose's face. He paused a moment, before continuing on, thinking she hadn't seen it. But, oh, did she see it. She stared at him for a moment longer before he turned and gave a larger smile, revealing his dagger like teeth.

It was wasn't the voice and tone that caught Rose off guard. It was actually the accent. "Vhy hallo every von! I am Kurt Vagner, your veatre teacher!"

 **…**

Rose hadn't suffered through class like she had suspected. Instead she had enjoyed it; learning a lot about Kurt and what he did at the Bavarian Circus and how he had performed there most of his life. Rose was deeply intrigued, especially the part about cosmetology.

Bing!

"Guten tag! Have a vonderful day!" He waved them off as the class began to storm out. Rose got up with Abigail, and was about to leave when she heard a familiar voice, "Um… Vose? Could I sveak vith you vor a moment?"

Rose turned and saw Kurt sitting at his desk. The same puff of smoke disappearing. She took a deep breath, and put a smile on. She waved Abigail off and walked to the desk. She smiled kindly and asked, "Yes Mr. Wagner?"

Kurt smiled and his tail flicked around. He looked down at his folded hands, in a way of getting his thoughts together. He nodded and started, "Ves… I velieve ve haven't properly intrvuced each other. I apologize vor that. I had to monitor ve men to get to the dorms…"

Rose smiled. It was nice to have a good teacher once in awhile. She nodded and said softly, "Yes sir, I am Rose Shlen."  
He smiled back and laughed, "I guess vou already know me…" Rose giggled to herself and listened as he continued, "My class vill ve hard. I vanted you to know vis. Vhut, I velieve vou vill enjoy vis class. Now… have a good day. Iv anyving ever havvens, tell me vlease."

Rose smiled. She knew immediately she would enjoy the class. She nodded and replied, "Guten tag."

Kurt smiled and waved goodbye, watching as Rose skipped out of the room and towards the professor's office. Her final class of the day.

She saw the door and shyly opened it, already seeing multiple students sitting about. She blushed at seeing they were waiting for her, but once the professor saw her, he smiled. She smiled back, then looked around for a seat. There was only one empty one left, right near his desk. It made her a bit nervous, but seeing it made her happy. He did care.

She smiled and slowly stepped in, taking a seat. She saw Clare sitting inside as well, making her smile as she looked at the professor. He smiled and spoke solemnly, "Now then, Spencer, could you please close the door?"

A boy with glasses looked at the professor. He nodded, zero expression on his face. Suddenly, his eyes lit up a tiny, tint of blue and it faded away, making the door behind him close. Rose watched in amazement, as the boy had closed the door without even touching it.

Xavier smiled and looked around at the eager faces, including Rose's confused expression. Rose came back to her own thoughts and looked at Xavier embarrassingly. He smiled and greeted the students, which was only a few. "Hello class."

The whole class replied, "Good day, professor."

Xavier smiled and spoke again, "Now, in my class you will be learning about your powers. All of the people in this room have some power having to do with the brain. So why don't we go around, and introduce ourselves and our powers?"

Rose's look dropped. She looked at him for a long time, trying to draw his attention. His look said otherwise, but he spoke to her privately, " _If you still don't feel good about this, I understand. You don't have to mention your powers to them now, but eventually you must._ "

She smiled thankfully and looked to the side as she heard Clare start. "I'm Clare Klin, my powers allow me to enter people's dreams."

Everyone nodded and the next to speak was the boy named Spencer, "I'm Spencer Carls and I have minor telekinesis."

Everyone nodded again. At least there were only seven people in class, so this would go by quick. It actually went by a little too quick for her, as she became the last person that still had to go. She came from her thoughts and looked at her eager classmates. She took a deep breath and stated calmly, "I'm Rose Shlen. My powers are… are… I… I would rather not talk about it."

She looked down sadly, but she didn't hear a single negative comment. Except only for the thoughts, as the emotions krept in on her.

" _That bad, huh?_ " One of them thought.

" _Poor kid… that must be horrible._ " Another thought.

" _I can compare…_ " One person thought. _Oh…_ Rose thought to herself. She was lucky enough no one had telepathy strong enough to read her mind, _They know what it's like to be in my shoes…_

 _"Yes, they do Rose. Not as bad as you, but they know."_ She looked around and saw Xavier staring at her, a quirked smile on his face. Rose blushed heavily and looked away.

Xavier smiled and said, "Now then… on with the class."

…

Rose walked out of Xavier's classroom, her mind swirling. Well, she managed to survive the day. That was a start. She wandered the halls until someone came up to her, "There you are! Let's get something to eat!"

She felt her wrist being pulled on, making her almost fall and drop her books again. She turned angrily, only to be met with a very bright Grace. Rose's look dropped and she smiled. She said softly, "Hi Grace, I don't think I'm going to have dinner. I'm just going to hit the hay."

Grace frowned and stated, "You didn't have any lunch today though."

Rose shrugged and stated, "It's fine. I'm used to not having a lot to eat. Tell the others I'm sleeping."

Grace frowned, but before she could say another word, Rose walked off. Rose kept her head down and rushed to the room, trying to make as little eye contact as possible. She immediately saw PaperCut sleeping on her bunk and her tensed body relaxed at seeing the tiny robot and she smiled.

She walked over and went to the drawers, quickly getting some clothes and taking off towards the bathroom.

Once inside, she took off the grey shirt and looked into the mirror. Sorrow filling herself as she scanned her chest; the scars of her past revealing the current. She looked down at her clothes. Was it worth it? Was it worth it to put people's lives at risk with her being here? Was it?

She didn't notice the sheer force she was putting into her clothes and now they were in a tightly packed ball. It was horrible. She finally noticed and slipped on her shirt, along with some smaller pajama pants. She stood there for a moment, looking into the mirror at her crimson, red eyes.

She stood there a moment longer, before she heard the door open from outside. She looked over at the bathroom door and slowly approached it. Opening up the door, she peered out and saw a small plate of food at the door. She tilted her head in curiosity and approached. She saw what seemed to be a small plate of ham and chips. She quickly opened the dorm door and peered outside, looking around, but seeing no one.

She peered back in and looked down at the meal before her. She smiled and leaned down to pick it up, then carried it to the bunk. She sat on top of it, making little PaperCut jump awake. He looked around frantically until he came across the face of Rose. Upon seeing her, he perked up and crawled onto her lap, snuggling up and falling back asleep.

She smiled and began to tear into the food, eating the ham and then soon going for the chips. She smiled as she finished it off and looked over at PaperCut. She gazed at him for a moment, before maneuvering him into her arms, cradling the tiny plane.

She smiled at hearing the tiniest of chirps. She rubbed his helm and snuggled with him as she climbed under the covers, letting her consciousness slip away into darkness. Letting the next day come to her as it would: in the form of terror.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Nightmares and Strength

 **A/N Hey guys! How's it going! I'm going to warn you, the beginning of this chapter is a _little_ bit dark. It's not to bad as some of the later chapters (Totally not foreshadowing or anything). So keep in mind that it might get worse... Also, one quick thing. I'm writing this in the timeline of school, so there might be a Christmas chapter, but its going to be later in the story. Dealing with the timeline. Anyways... enjoy!**

 **Anyways... If you see a character you know then its owned by Stan Lee and Marvel. See something you don't know? That would be mine!**

 **I own nothing!**

* * *

Rose shuffled uncomfortably in her bunk. She could feel PaperCut's warmth on her chest, which was just enough to get her through the eight hours of torture. Still, all she heard were the horrors within her mind; screaming at her to yell, claw, and scramble away. She felt as if she was actually there.

She stared into the darkness, trying to conjure up some form of safety. She could feel it: _Its_ presence. It was circling her in the darkness, whispering sweet, terrible, memories into her thoughts. All of those memories and hateful terrors came crawling back. She could feel _It_.

The hairs on her neck stood on end. Everything around her blurring and fading away into nothing. She couldn't see a thing. She could only hear. All of her past thoughts. All of them… from that… _thing_. She did her best to avoid it, but that's impossible. Especially when it's what she thought of.

 _"Don't you remember…"_

 _"I'm a part of you…"_

 _"Oh… I remember, oh, so well…"_

 _"The screams, the claws, the fear… the hate… the red… the blood…"_

There was a pause in the voice and the air went cold. Everything around Rose went silent. It was silent before, but now… it was just dead.

 _"...Ose?..."_

The voice came back; mispronouncing her name and making the agonizing silence creeping back. She felt the presence behind her stalk closer and goosebumps ran up and down her arms.

 _"...Do you remember my favorite part?..."_ _It's_ question making Rose shiver. She felt the presence right behind her. _It's_ cold uneven breath chilling down her neck. She could feel _It_ brushing against her back, every touch making her sting like fire. She could feel _It's_ hand trailing up towards her neck.

 _"...Of course you do… if it makes you feel better… I'll say it for you…"_

She felt _It's_ cold stone fingers wrap around her neck. Rose felt tears dot the corner of her eyes, the wateriness inside making her cry. She wanted to scream and run, but _It_ forced her to stay. Everything was silent; she could feel the creature's head moving to her ear. She felt _It's_ breath against her ear, chills running down her neck. The hands tightened their grip, making her choke out a sob.

 _"...All of that beauty…"_

The deathening silence filled the area again. It seemed that even its breath had gone still. She paused thinking it was over, that all the torture was gone. She was safe again.

 _"...The death…"_

She felt three more hands come out; two wrapping around her waist and one covering her mouth to prevent her from screaming. She was pulled back into darkness; only the sound of screaming was heard. Then silence. The deathening silence.

 **…**

Rose shot up in the bunk hitting her head in the process. PaperCut was sent flying off of her, making him scramble to safety. She rubbed her head, panting heavily in terror. Her body was drenched in sweat, her skin was shivering and covered with goosebumps.

She looked around frantically, only to sigh in relief at realizing that everything she saw was but a dream. She placed her hand on her heart; wanting to confirm it was still there. She sighed once more, until she felt the tears coming on.

She placed one hand over her mouth, while the other held her up. She was choking on her own tears and she felt like screaming in pain. It wasn't until a tiny warmth that came to her leg that she looked down. She saw a trembling PaperCut holding her leg.

She placed her hand aside, smiling gently; letting her tears run down her cheeks. She brought up the tiny bot and gave him a gentle hug. His little arms wrapped around her torso as best as he could as he tried to return the gesture.

She smiled, wiping away stray tears. She looked back at the clock: 5:02. There was only about one hour till breakfast and there was no way she was going back to sleep with that… _Thing_ lurking in her mind.

She leaned back and thought on what to do to pass the time. She remembered Scott mentioning a small gym. Maybe she could check that out. She smiled and leaned back up, looking at the still hugging PaperCut.

She stroked his tiny paper head and asked quietly, "Would you like to guide me to the gym?"

He jumped up and hopped about happily. She smiled and silently got out of the bed. She noted while doing so that Clare's head was literally glowing. Well, she was a mutant with dream capabilities. She shrugged it off and headed towards the restroom, quickly walking in and getting dressed.

 **…**

Rose silently crept out of the room, closing the door behind her, as she watched the tiny plane fly out. She did so and looked at tiny PaperCut, who had now transformed and landed on her shoulder. She smiled and asked softly, "Where to, bud?"

PaperCut pointed forward and Rose stalked off, reaching into her sweat pants pocket and pulling out some hand wraps. She gently began wrapping them around her hands. Rose was quick to learn that PaperCut could talk, but only by clicking; one click meant left, two clicks meant right. So while she wrapped the cloth around her hands, he would click and she would turn.

Finally she ran into something, right after finishing her wraps. She peered up and saw that there was a door. She opened it up and was met with a gust of humidity. She sighed in relief and entered. She saw a couple people, all guys, working out. She noticed one man in particular; his body was huge. He reminded her of JC, except for one thing that drew her attention: his skin was solid metal!

She slowly approached him, knowing that she needed to be guided to the punching bags. The man stood by talking to some of his friends. She slowly approached while PaperCut hid in her hair.

She came up to the massive giant; he had his back to her. She tapped his broad shoulder and in response, he turned. He looked down at her, smiling lightly, causing her to smile too. He must have been the contagious type.

The man smiled and said, "Hello, haven't seen you around here."

Rose smiled and replied kindly, "I'm Rose. I'm new."

The metal giant smiled; he spoke with a hint of power, "I'm Piotr. It's nice to meet you, Rose. What do you need?"

Rose gestured around and said, "Do you know where the punching bags are?"

One of the people behind Piotr laughed. They both turned to look at him. Some other highly muscular boy laughed out, "Don't you think that's a bit much for someone of… _your_ size?"

Everyone in the room began laughing, everyone, that is, except for Piotr and Rose. She looked away shyly, a bit embarrassed by his comment. Piotr's frown deepened by her look. He spat out at his friend, " _Rose_ can do whatever she likes. In fact, they are right over here, miss."

Rose smiled kindly at him; she liked how polite he was compared to the others. As he guided her off, she caught a glance of the glare from the guy who had laughed. She smirked at the man and watched as Piotr hooked a bag to the ceiling.

She smiled and thanked him, but stopped as she noticed him hooking up his own bag. She looked at him a bit confused. Once he caught glance of her stare, he looked at her, giving a shrug while responding, "What? I can't do this too?"

Rose smiled, then looked away shyly. She felt a shuffle on her neck and remembered that PaperCut was hiding in her hair. She said softly, "PaperCut, c'mon out. Why don't you fly around?"

The tiny miniature robot flew out in his plane mode, making every boy flinch from the mini turbine noises. She giggled and watched as PaperCut circled above, not going more than five feet away from her. Piotr spoke, "Oh, yeah I heard about you. Grace kept mentioning their new roommate and how PaperCut was all over her. Guess that her, is you." He finished with a smile.

Rose smiled lightly. She felt a little awkward knowing that Grace had talked about her, but at the same time, she was thankful. It was nice to know that people cared. She turned to look at the punching bag, bringing up her arms and backing up, putting them in the ready position.

She bounced on her heels a little. She would need to warm up a little. She knew that going on straight away could cause her muscles damage. She watched as Piotr stepped back readying himself as well, already delivering hard blows to the bag. She shook her head and looked back to the bag, delivering a light punch to the center. As she did so, she heard some of the men behind her laugh softly.

A frown creased her face. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She did another light punch to the bag, causing the laughs to grow. Her lip twitched, wanting to frown more. She bounced, hitting once more; it was immediately followed by a burst of laughter.

 _"Really?"_

 _"She's just embarrassing herself."_

 _"Why even try?"_

She could hear the voices creeping in; all of their thoughts beckoning to her. She punched the bag once again, continuing to hear their banters. She glanced at Piotr, wondering what he thought. She focused all her might into what he was thinking. Surprisingly, she caught his eyes on her.

" _C'mon Rose,_ " she heard his thoughts ramble, " _I know you can do this. Prove 'em wrong. Make them eat their words. C'mon one good blow._ "

Rose's thoughts went still; he cared. She smiled deeply. She was now dedicated enough to go on. She brought her hand back, readying her blow. Her eyes gave a flash of silver, catching no one's attention, but her own. She brought her fist forward, nailing the bag right in the side.

Its seams burst and the hook broke, sending the bag flying back into the wall. A loud thud and crack at the impact could be heard. As the bag slouched down, it revealed a newly formed crack.

Everything went silent. Even the punches from Piotr had stopped as he looked at her in shock. She watched, a bit amused herself. She spun around and saw the crowd of guys all standing behind her, their jaws dropped. She smirked and turned back to Piotr. She asked kindly, "Where do we put the broken bags?"

Piotr shook his head, trying to shake his rudeness away. He smiled and glanced at the crowd of boys who were just starting to wander off in a daze. He smirked and replied, "Right over here. Want me to grab you another one?"

She nodded kindly, and he stepped over to the broken bag, taking it up. When he was about to leave, he paused, glanced back at Rose and did a double take, "Actually… how about you use mine? I want to show you a couple things. If that's alright."

Rose smiled, glad that she could have someone like him to help her. She nodded happily.

 **…**

Rose stepped out of the gym at six thirty. Piotr had explained to her that they actually needed to conserve the punching bags. She felt a little bad, but then hearing Piotr say that she was awesome made her all the more better. He had decided to teach her to conserve her strength, just like he did. Afterall, he was made of metal. They decided they would train with each other every Tuesday and Thursday morning.

Rose stalked down the hall. PaperCut refused to land on her shoulder due to the sweat she was drenched in. She tiredly entered her dorm to see all of her friends still sleeping. Clare's glowing head was slowly fading away. Rose watched as PaperCut flew to the ceiling, doing silent dips and turns in the air. Rose smirked and went to the restroom, deciding to take a shower, get ready and to go to breakfast early. She would have to leave a note for her overly paranoid friends.

 **…**

She silently left the room, her hair wrapped up in the same grey bandana and a new grey shirt with sweatpants. She had to force PaperCut to stay in the room without following her, so that he could help calm the other girls.

She was quick to come upon the kitchen and saw Piotr sitting alone. Once he saw her he smiled and waved hello. She waved back and went to grab something, deciding a glass of water and banana was the equivalent to a good meal.

She came to Piotr and asked softly, "Mind if I sit here?"

Piotr smiled and gestured for her to take a seat. She sat down, going into her banana. She had never actually had one this ripe before. He smiled and asked, "Tell me, where are you from?"

She froze, right after taking a bite. She slowly munched on it, trying to conjure up a believable story. She looked at him and said softly, "I'm… I'm from a… a…"

Before she could continue, Piotr cut her off, "If you don't want to talk about it, I understand."

Rose looked at him, a bit surprised. She smiled gracefully and replied, "Thank you. I really appreciate that. When I came here some people were pretty pushy about that."

He smiled and took a bite of his own food. He spoke, "What about powers?" Rose's smile faded away again. She looked back down at her banana, twiddling with her fingers. Piotr sighed and raised his hands in a defensive manner. He said, "Sorry, bad subject."

She smiled kindly and said awkwardly again, "Thanks…"

He chuckled and tried another topic, hoping this time it would be successful, "What about those moves? That wasn't any type of fighting style I know. Where did you learn it?"

Rose perked up at those memories. She said happily, "Well, I had a friend, well, more like family. He was a soldier, and when I was younger… I was abused. So instead of getting me a professional, he taught me how to fight like a soldier. He did do martial arts when he was younger, but then when he went to the army he was taught self defence. So He passed that on to me."

Piotr smiled and shrugged to himself, looking down at his meal. He played with it a little before saying, "I was born with the powers I guess; being metal has its perks." Rose gave a stifled giggle and he continued, "You know, originally I thought your abilities had to deal with fighting, but I'm starting to rethink it."

Rose smiled and looked down at her meal. She replied softly, "Yeah, sometimes I wish it was."

Piotr nodded in response. They went into a friendly conversation afterwards and it wasn't until Rose felt a presence behind her that the conversation stopped. Rose spun around and noticed Grace standing behind her, her eyes in a daze and on Piotr. Rose raised a brow and asked, "Yes?"

Grace snapped out of her daze and rather quickly grabbed Rose's wrist and pulled her away, leaving both Rose and Piotr confused. Grace pulled her out into the hall, where the others stood staring in shock.

Grace let go and went to stand next to the others. Rose stared at them for a moment, before asking, "Would you mind explaining to me why you pulled me out of a conversation with my friend?"

Clare spoke, her tone now in shock, "Rose, you were talking with Piotr; one of the hottest guys in the school."

Rose's jaw dropped. She burst into laughter and choked out, "That's it? Wow, I thought you were going to try and tell me he was evil or something!"

Clare exclaimed, "Why aren't you freaking out that one of the senior guys are your friend?"

Rose stopped her laughing, looking at all of them dumbfoundedly. She spoke clearly, "Are you kidding? Where I came from I was raised by guys. He is merely my friend. I don't want to get into any relationship with him, at least not now. He is _just_ my friend." She said, rather firmly.

Grace jumped up and said, "Oh! Do you think you could mention me to him? You know, your _awesome_ friend, Grace?"

Everyone looked at her with a stupid expression. She smiled awkwardly and everyone laughed. A bell rang and Abigail said, "That's the five minute marker. We should be heading to class now."

At that moment, Piotr came out of the kitchen. Every girl froze, except for Rose. She spun around and smiled, saying, "Hey Piotr! Where you heading to?"

He smiled and glanced up at the other three girls. He said, "Hello girls." Grace almost fainted. "I'm going to the history wing. You?"

"Same!" Rose said happily. Piotr smiled and took a wide step out, revealing his giant posture.

He said, "That's great, I'll walk you there."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Fear and Danger

 **A/N Okay, so I plan on uploading a picture of what she physically looks like in her 'form' next time I upload. So if you need a visual you can go to my DeviantArt account and can look it up. I'll post what my user is next time. Anyways... I will warn that the beginning is dealing with the creepy factor, and _It_ , that is all I shall mention. McDragonRider edited this and she is an awesome human, dragon... thing.**

 **I own nothing! (Except for anything you don't recognize as part of the marvel universe)**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

Rose didn't listen the whole day; all she could think about was the Danger Room. When she was in technology, which was next door to the room, she heard rumbling and fighting. She grew terrified. What was she to do when she got there? What if… _It_ came out?

Oh how she hated that name: _It. It_ always crawled in there, tearing and scaring; never leaving her to her own thoughts. Why? Why was _It_ there? Why in her mind? _It_ could have been with anyone else, but _It_ chose her. _It_ was always crawling, beckoning, eating away at her sanity until nothing was left, but darkness.

Darkness.

 _It_ was nothing, but… darkness. Terror. _Evil_. She looked around frantically. When had she gotten here? She searched around; no light, nothing but darkness.

" _Of course… It is in our mind afterall…_ "

Rose spun around rather quickly to meet the silhouette of the evil. _It_ was here, _It_ was there. _It_ stood right in front of Rose.

No eyes, no mouth, no nose, no nothing. Just a silhouette; the strange black haze emanating off of it. No words could describe the full terror that stood in front of her; the only words that came to her mind were _living_ fear.

She could feel _It's_ gaze being settled upon her. Terror burned into her heart and soul; at least what was left of it. She felt pain, an unbearable pain, filling her chest. She fell to her knees suddenly, gripping her chest, gasping for the air that didn't exist in the nightmare realm.

The creature came to be beside Rose. It's presence giving her terror and fear. It leaned close to her, examining every small appearance. She was begging herself to hang onto her sanity; not to let the demon get to her.

" _Ose…_ "

Rose closed her eyes, pleading under her breath to wake up. She felt something snake up her arm and onto her neck, making circles. It stemmed like _It_ was attempting to tickle her, but it was no use with her shivering. Rose squeezed her eyes more. She couldn't breath for the air was to thin.

" _Why are you fighting me, Ose?_ "

The circling stopped and the fingers snaked away. She kept pleading; she didn't want to be fearful, but now… she was petrified. She held herself more and clinged to her body, trying to calm herself down. She felt like screeching in terror, yet everything inside of her told her not. to; she had to fight the evil being off. Unfortunately it wasn't working too well for her.

" _Ose…_ "

 _It_ snaked up to her front, putting its cold dead fingers underneath her chin, lifting her head up. Rose kept her eyes closed, tears pricking at the corners; she didn't dare open them. Her jaw clenched and her muscles tensed, she felt like crying, but no. Never. For them: her real family. Her whole body shook with fear and terror. She pleaded to herself that she was going to be fine.

" _Look at me… open those eyes…_ "

Rose didn't know why, but she did. She opened her eyes and looked into the face of a murderer and started to cry. The faceless horror standing in front of her; _It's_ blank expression right in front of her face: no eyes, no nose, no mouth; nothing but a black abyss of fears and nightmares.

" _Now there is the one I love… why must you cry?_ "

 _It's_ sharp pointed dagger finger lifted and stroked Rose's cheek, wiping away a stray tear. Rose trembled even more. Oh how she wished Tyreese was here; he would comfort her and tell her everything would be alright. But now… she was alone, lost in the fears of her mind. She wanted to scream for help even now.

" _There we are… I still remember the day you cried…_ "

Rose's look dropped; she felt like screaming. _Anything_ but that day. The creature went silent as well and something began to happen. It was unexpected; his hand trembling and body chuckling.

He began to screech with laughter, a scratch like crack coming across _It's_ face, only to separate and appear to be a mouth. It looked as if it was just skin, but in a smooth and solid way. _It_ had daggers for teeth; the sharp edges enough to cause any child nightmares. She wanted to sob, beg for it not to touch her; even _It's_ touch scared her.

 _It's_ gaze came back to her. _It's_ white mouth revealing to be in a permanent evil smile, like the Chesire Cat's. You could hear a rumble within its throat, like a mixture between a growl and purr. She felt herself whimper at the look.

 _It_ leaned in closer, _It's_ forehead on hers. _It_ hissed out, like venom seeping through _It's_ voice, " _That was my favorite day… all the screams… all the agony… all the fear…_ "

 _It's_ mouth began to separate and _It_ was huge, almost the whole size of her head. If _It_ were to lean forward, _It_ could easily swallow her head whole, but instead of eating her, it screeched a blood curdling scream.

 **…**

Rose shot up at the sound of the bell. It was only the bell… she wanted to scream again. Thank God. She sighed and looked up, her face soon paling. It was the last period: the Danger Room.

She shakily stood up and slowly waltzed to the hallway. She saw a group of children walking there, among them: Clare, Grace, and Abigail. Even Rogue, Kitty, and Bobby; she paled.

She slowly made her way to the room and entered through the large metal door. She saw some kids already in uniform; one of them was Piotr. Her face paled even more. She took a deep breath and stepped to the changing room, placing her bag down, wrapping her hair in a low pony tail, and tying her shirt. She also took off her shoes and socks for some odd reason.

She stepped out to see everyone all in their own uniform. Abigail was wearing the most intricate suit of them all: she had on a black jumpsuit and black cape like thing; similar to what a vampire would wear.

She stepped up to the back of the crowd of kids and she stayed behind watching, as the others began to get in a line. After a bit, two familiar teachers entered the room: Ororo and Scott. They came to the front and all the children were giddy with excitement, unlike a certain, terrified Rose.

She shifted on her feet, playing with her sleeveless shirt that she had brought with her. She swallowed sorely and watched as Ororo stepped forward. She smiled and greeted, "Hello class…"

Everyone greeted at once, everyone except Rose that is; her mouth was glued shut. "Hi Miss Ororo, Mr. Scott!"

Ororo smiled and spoke solemnly, "Today we are going to introduce you to the Danger Room. This is where you will learn more about your powers and how to work as a team. You will train hard here and become one with your powers, learning control, defense, and power."

Scott stepped forward and smiled as he said, "So how about we start off with everyone's name, code name, and powers? Miss Munroe and I shall go first." Everyone nodded happily, and Scott started, "My name is Scott Summers, my codename is Cyclops, and my powers are compiled of powerful energy that comes from my eyes, controlled by these glasses." He gestured to them and then to Ororo.

"My name Is Ororo Munroe, I go by Storm, and my powers are control of the weather. Rogue…"

Rogue stepped forward and smiled, "I am Anna Marie, I go by Rogue, and I can absorb the powers, memories, and physical strength of anyone I touch." She nudged Bobby next to her.

He smiled and stepped forward, while Rogue stepped back, "I'm Bobby Drake, I go by Iceman, and I can manipulate ice and the cold. So my name kinda gives it away…" Some people giggled.

Kitty skipped forward and said happily, "I'm Kitty Pryde! I am also called Shadowcat, and I am able to phase through any type of matter." She giggled and stepped back, letting Piotr step forward.

He crossed his arms and said, "I'm Piotr Rasputin, I go by Colossus, and I am capable of transforming into a strong metallic form."

He stepped back and Grace skipped forward, "I'm Grace Ann! I go by Paintbrush and whatever I draw or fold together becomes real! I'm also a really fun person to hang out with!" She skipped back and Clare stepped forward.

She cleared her throat and said, "I'm Clare Shauna, I go by Dreamcatcher, and I can go into people's minds and witness what they see. I can occasionally manipulate them as well." She smiled and stepped back and this time Abigail stepped forward.

She did a tiny bow and said calmly, "I am Abigail Trinity, I go by Foresight. I am capable of transforming into a bat, and when people are looking into my eyes, they become hypnotized by me."

She smiled and stepped back. Every other student went and eventually Rose zoned out. She was terrified, every student that went, made it closer to letting her reveal herself. She held herself doubtedly, thinking of anything she could do to get out of the situation. She wanted to run and flee, but knowing that's the chicken way out, she tried to think otherwise, until one voice came out over the rest.

"Rose? Do you want to share with everyone about yourself?"

She peered up; every eye was on her. Her face went pale and she took a shaky breath. She said softly, "I'm Rose Shlen. I don't have a code name yet and my powers… are…" She went silent not continuing.

Scott said kindly, "Rose you need to share with them your powers, if you are to fight."

Rose's face paled and she said, "I'd rather not… really…"

Scott frowned and looked at Ororo; she had the exact same look. Ororo sighed and said calmly, "Alright…" Rose looked up a bit relieved, until her heart dropped at her next comment, "Now for the sophomores… since this is their first year, they get to have a solo chance at fighting. How about we let Rose go first? She can't speak of her powers, so maybe she can show us."

Rose's face paled more; her throat went dry. She wanted to yell at Ororo for the terrible comment, but before she could even say anything, they walked towards a giant tower in the middle of the room. Some kids teleported up, while the rest took an elevator.

Rose began to breathe quickly; she wanted to scream for help. The hair on her neck stood on end, prickling with every burst of wind. She shook terribly and Storm came through on the radio, " _Now Rose… we're going to put it on the easiest level: four drones will come after you. All you have to do is just defend yourself; destroy them to your heart's content. In three, two, one…_ "

Four robots shot through the floor and Rose looked at them in terror. She slowly backed up, watching them approach her. One word echoed through her head: _Run…_

She turned and sprinted in the other direction, hearing the drones chasing her. She screeched and ducked below as she saw them launch something at her. She sprinted off and then looked behind her, but when she looked back, she didn't see the robots. She saw _them_ : the prisoners.

Her heart went cold, her eyes went stone dead, and she slowed her pace. She fell onto her knees and crawled to a corner in the room. She turned to face the robots, tears coming to her eyes. She pleaded, "No… no… NO!" She screeched the end and felt her back hit the wall.

She heard someone yell, most likely Scott, "Rose! Stay calm! I'm coming!"

Rose shook in her spot, not hearing a word he said. They kept getting closer and more hazy, more twisted and turned. She sobbed and pleaded once more, "Please… stop… go away…"

Rose huddled in on herself, voices coming to her ears.

" _What's wrong with her?_ "

" _Can't she even hurt a robot?_ "

" _She's so weak._ "

She felt all the rage build up inside of her. She held herself more, tears soaking her shirt. Suddenly she heard it and she released everything. It wasn't anyone's voice; it was _It's_ voice.

" _Let go…_ "

Rose's eyes went white; fear and pain filling inside of her, as she felt the presences come closer. She felt herself being lifted and everything around her go cold and stagnant. Everything went silent, even the robot's steps went silent. She screeched at the top of her lungs, "STOP!"

A wave of silver came around her and sent a tidal wave of energy out and around her. The robots disintegrated; disappearing into thin air. Her eyes went white and round, glimmering with power.

She felt her body suddenly catch on fire and she screeched at the top of her lungs. Then came silence, nothing but deadly silence.

 **…**

Everyone went quiet, all of the class was down in the pit now. The dust of the robots now settling on the ground. Everyone coughed and hacked as Scott and Ororo searched for Rose, "Rose! Rose!" They heard a sob and everyone turned their heads to the corner, to see a strange thing sitting there.

It was white; the skin was all white. Six giant horns sat on the top of its head. Two white eyes decorated the face. They had no pupil and no iris. The only color was the black lining of where her eyelashes would be. Long hair, a tangled mess, dangled on its back. It had four arms wrapped around itself; two on the top and two right below them. A tiny silver gem sat in the center of its forehead and chest. It had no mouth, no nose, and no ears; nothing, but eyes.

It trembled, staring at the ground. Torn clothes say around it, revealing its now giant body; at least 5'11". It sat there, shaking and trembling, until it heard its name.

It slowly looked up and saw everyone staring at her. Grace gasped and asked, "Rose?"

Rose stared at them in fear. She held herself and noticed that she was bare and then held herself more. She was no longer the same girl she once was; she was her inner monster.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Monsters

 **A/N Hello! I feel like I have just ran a marathon because me and my fam just went into a cave...**

 **I'm not weird.**

 **Anyways! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I shall post my DeviantArt name at the bottom so you can look me up and check out my pick for Rose. I hope you like her :)**

 **Anyways I own nothing except you definitely don't recognize...**

 **McDragonRider is a boss human dragon thing being!**

 **DeviantArt name: TheGoldenGlaceon (I don't know why I didn't just put it as YourWeeklyApple"**

 **Enjoy**

* * *

Silence.

Nothing, but silence. The deathening silence that only the creature who lurks in Rose's mind has.

Rose sat in her corner, covering her white body. Her four arms wrapped around herself tightly and securely. She was shaking and shivering, her body still emanating off that strange eerie silver glow. Her white eyes kept jumping from person to person in the room and her breath wavered with each intake.

Ororo was in shock. She had thought Rose's powers were level two and that she was just scared to reveal them. This… this was a level four.

Everyone was frozen. Rose was terrified of them and the feeling of being rejected echoed within her mind. She shook and trembled remembering all of those times in the past. Scott took a shaky step forward and reached out a hand towards her. He said kindly, "Rose… it's okay. No one is hurt. You're fine."

Rose shook the closer Scott got and she held herself more. A soft voice emanated from her, but in their heads and not aloud. "P-please… g-go away… I… I don't w-want to hurt y-you…"

Scott paused, which managed to make Rose's trembling steady out. Scott looked behind him and glared at Storm. He said calmly to her, "Get the children out of here and get the Professor down here. Now."

Storm was still in quite a shock. She paused and looked towards the class, suddenly remembering that they were, indeed, originally teaching a class. Storm turned to them, saying very quickly and gesturing for them not to look. "Kids, go to the changing rooms and get something on, quickly. Grab your things and meet me outside in the hall. I want to see everyone out in five minutes. Move."

Everyone split up and took off into the changing rooms. Abigail, Clare, and Grace just stood there, eyes still focused on their petrified friend. Abigail looked at Ororo and spoke for them all, "may we go and get the Professor?"

Ororo stared at them all for a moment, contemplating on what to do. After a moment, she nodded and gestured for them to run off. She followed them out to the hall, letting Scott try and calm the terrified child.

Scott slowly began to approach her again, causing her to tremble once more. Scott stated calmly, "Rose, look at me, you're fine. You're just scared. Let me come over and help-"

"NO!" She yelled through his mind, making the silvery essence around her grow. She trembled more at the sight of her strange aura expanding and she breathed heavily, beginning to panic. She pressed her chest into her knees and let her two upper hands grab the two center horns. She began to pull on them, closing her eyes and pleading that she wouldn't let _It_ come out.

Scott felt the room around them tremble from her nervousness; the ever growing aura increasing. He looked at her and spoke, a hint of his own nervousness laced within his tone, "Rose, look at me. Please."

Rose paused for a moment, deciding whether or not to do so. She slowly looked up and saw his eyes meet her empty ones. She felt the tears come on. The shaking increased in the room. Scott stated calmly, "Rose, I know what you're going through. You're scared. I can guarantee you're just afraid because this is one of the first times you've transformed. You're not used to controlling it. You want to, but you're afraid you will lose it."

Rose looked at him nervously. She held her breath. What did he know? He couldn't help her. He wasn't like her. He didn't have _It_ lurking in his mind. She stated, clear as day, "You don't know… you haven't been in my shoes. I have witnessed what no one wanted. You are right when you say I want to be in control, but no. It's not because this is my first time. It's because… because _It_ wants to come out."

Scott paused, not actually knowing what she meant by _It_. But by the tone she gave it, _It_ didn't sound good. He was about to question her, before he heard the door slide open. They both peered over and saw Xavier and Ororo storm in. Rose trembled more and pressed her head into her knees, going back to wrapping her four slender arms around herself.

Xavier rolled up in his wheelchair and looked to Scott, most likely asking him a question through his telepathy. Rose tried her best to calm herself, until she heard a voice echo in her mind, " _Rose? Please, look up._ "

Xavier.

Rose slowly peered up and saw him, along with both Scott and Ororo beside him. He smiled and said kindly, "Hello there. I see you've gone through a change."

Rose looked away. She hated this. She _loathed_ this. This was her nightmare. She looked back and hissed like a cat, "I didn't ask to be a living nightmare. It beckons at me, it tempts me to fall for it's trickery. I don't want this."

Xavier paused, already telling that neither Scott or Ororo heard her. It was merely Rose and Xavier, having a conversation. Xavier said right back, " _You're not. I can tell. I can see it within you. You have control. You're not the monster that is beckoning you. You just need to let us help._ "

Rose felt her anger boil within her. She spat out angrily, this time letting them all here. "I don't want this! I don't want anyone else to suffer my inner demons! Please! Just leave!"

Everyone frowned and Xavier spoke aloud this time, "Rose. You won't hurt us. If you attempt to, we can fend for ourselves. You're scared. You think we'll end up like-"

"Don't." She interrupted him, rather emotionlessly. She continued, "Don't say it. _It_ enjoys their names."

Xavier tilted her head, wondering what she meant by _It_. He decided it would be better to go over this later. He said kindly, "I won't, but Rose, please, let us help you. We know more than you think. We can help you."

Rose looked at them, still a bit shaken, yet she felt everything leave her. Something she didn't have felt like it was taken off of her shoulders. She looked at them; one word would change it all, making all of the weight leave her. She heard _It's_ voice terrorize her in her mind, _"No. Don't do it. Then we won't be able to talk anymore. I know you like it…"_

Rose took a deep breath, feeling her energy being drained away by _It_. _It_ was trying to tempt her again. She could feel _It_ trying to take over again, but she fought against it. _It_ spoke again, _"Can you hear me?! Are you trying to disobey me?! You listen-"_

" _No,_ " Rose refused to listen to _It's_ rambling. She wanted _It_ to listen to her. She hissed at it again " _I refuse to let you control me. I'm in control now._ "

Like the weight of the world was being lifted off her shoulders, she took a deep breath and didn't hear a thing. She looked at Xavier and said one word, "Yes."

Xavier smiled and looked at Ororo, indicating that she should give her something to cover up with. She took her cloak off and slowly approached Rose, still trying to be cautious around her, knowing it was her own fault for the start. She came to Rose's side and wrapped the cloak around her, while Rose used her four hands to grab the edges.

She shakily stood up, with Ororo by her side. She began to maneuver her toeless feet with caution. She hadn't been in this form in quite a long time. She looked at Xavier, who had the biggest smile on his face. She wanted to smile back, but due to the fact that she didn't have a mouth she couldn't, so she merely nodded.

When she was taking her third step she paused, a wave of nausea and pain filled her mind. A single word, from _It_ echoed in her mind. _"No…"_

Her mind went blank after that word. _It_ was using all of its power to gain control. The first thing _It_ went for: her mind. She blacked out and fell to the ground with a thud.

Everyone jumped at her sudden tumble. Seeing her passed out and shivering, Ororo quickly leaned down and placed the back of her hand on Rose's forehead, but quickly drew it back. Ororo faced Xavier and said, "She's scalding."

Xavier looked back at her. He could tell that something was obviously wrong. He entered her mind, but quickly came out at hearing and seeing absolute horror. His eyes softened. He knew what she was doing… she was trying to fight _It_ off. She was cringing and sweat began to pool on her forehead as well. It would be a _very_ close battle. All they could do… was try and aid her in her struggle.

Xavier faced Scott and said, "Scott, quickly take Rose to the clinic. I will be there momentarily." Scott looked at the professor. He could sense that something was wrong. He nodded and came to be on the other side of Rose, quickly taking her into his arms and running off. Soon after, Ororo stood.

She looked at the Xavier and asked, "What's happening to her?"

Xavier looked at Ororo and answered, "She is fighting to the best of her abilities. Something inside her is trying to gain control, so the first place it took out was her mind. She is using all her ability to resist it's grasp, but it will be a close call. We just need to make her as comfortable as possible. This is her fight and she must go against alone. There is nothing we can do."

He was about to go, but one comment caught him off guard, even for a telepath like himself. "Professor, what is trying to take over her mind?"  
Xavier stopped, taking a moment to think on it. He looked down, trying to choose what to say. He turned around and said calmly, "I don't know."

 **…**

Scott rushed into the clinic and saw the nurse standing there. He looked at her, and she at him, noticing the limp girl in his arms. She quickly pointed to a berth, which Scott placed Rose atop. Her shivering was increasing, something was trying its hardest to get in, but Scott didn't think she was one to give up.

Scott sat next to her. It took him a moment to notice the children gathering outside the door. He turned and said firmly, "Go to your dorm rooms. Wait til we say it's time for dinner."

All of the students slowly, but surely, scattered off. Soon Xavier rolled in, with a baffled Ororo. Scott tilted his head in confusion and asked, "Xavier what is wrong with Rose? What's happening in her mind?"

Xavier looked at him, puffing out a sad sigh. He answered, "I don't know Scott, I can't get into her mind."

Scott looked even more confused. He asked, "What do you mean?"

Xavier was pushed over to the side of the white creature's berth. He stroked her horn in a soothing manner, trying his best to calm her raging nerves. He answered softly, "I tried, but there is nothing to go into."

Ororo was the next to ask a question, "What do you mean?"

Xavier faced them, a serious look on his face, "Her body is here, but her mind isn't. It's like she is in another body, for this one's mind is empty."

Ororo furrowed her brow and asked, "Could you pinpoint her?"

Xavier shook his head. He said, with a sigh, "I did already. I can only pinpoint her being here. I can find her body, but if I wanted to pinpoint her mind, I could kill her. I'd rather take the safe side."

Everyone nodded and Ororo joined them to sit down. She sat at the bottom, near her feet. She stated calmly, "Then we wait."

 **…**

Rose gasped to life, her once human form, replaced with this new one. She frantically searched around, trying to find out what happened. All she could feel was a cold chill run down her back.

She turned to see the same silhouette of her demon circling her. _It_ was surprisingly, her own silhouette. However, it was an opposite pitch black silhouette. The same threatening image, except this time, she wasn't scared, she was angry.

She let her two right fists fly forward, attempting to punch the monster's face. It quickly flew to the side, nailing her jaw with its own upper right fist. Rose stumbled back, cradling her cheek. She stared at the creature before her for a moment, before running at it once more, trying to nail it in the stomach this time.

Of course, missing and falling to the ground. Slithering tentacles began wrapping around her waist, but she was too loopy to notice. _It_ lifted her off the ground and threw her to the side with a mighty force. She felt a sharp sting on her waist. She felt like screaming with pain, but any signs of weakness would be used against her by the creature.

She tried to get up, but her arms failed her. The monster's foot pressed into her back, making her fall back onto her stomach. She groaned, using her force to peer over her shoulder. She saw the black silhouette towering above her, _It's_ jaw just now beginning to separate to create a daggered mouth.

If Rose currently had her eyes showing, they would be ginormous. She quickly kicked up and knocked the creature off. She quickly turned around and sat on _It's_ stomach, pounding _It_ as hard as she could, making _It_ shriek an ear piercing screech. Rose managed to stay focused until she felt something slither up her arms, then around her neck. Right… It had tentacles…

She quickly shot up, her four arms clawing at _It's_ grasp around her neck. She let her legs kick about, trying to hurt the creature. She watched as the creature was unhurt by her attempts, and soon standing on its own feet. It scowled and tightened its grip around her neck, making Rose gasp for breath.

 _It_ dragged her close to its face, after she had lost most of her strength and energy. Its jaw in a permanent angered scowling smile, _It_ hissed out, _"You fool! How could you?! Aren't you aware that what you will do, you will fail?! I am you! You may as well give up now!"_

Rose managed to choke out through the iron grip, "...N-Never…"

 _It_ scowled, starting to make its jaw open more. _It_ hissed out before making the final blow, _"So be it!"_

 _It_ sent out its tentacle far from her, but with enough force implied, it would be able to kill her. She didn't look; she was too scared to. She felt something stroke her horn, yet nothing was there. She looked back; the creature was frozen. _It_ seemed confused as well and questioned, _"What was that?"_

Rose looked into the silhouette's face, not daring to speak. She felt it again. It felt… nice. She leaned into it. She heard and felt what seemed like a shudder from the creature. She opened her eyes and looked at _It_ , confused. It _doesn't like it_ … She thought to herself. She felt it once more; it made the creature tremble. Rose leaned into it more.

Soon she felt the creature's grip soften as _It_ went limp and slithered away, letting Rose fall to the floor with a gasp. She sighed and looked to the creature. It was screeching bloody murder, all four claws digging into its head. Meanwhile, the stroking continued. That's when something came to Rose.

Whenever she normally would have a nightmare, she would go to Tyreese. He would stroke her hair back and sooth her by staying there. _Someone_ was here with her, chasing the demon away. She smiled and approached the ever shrieking creature. Rose leered down at it, this time putting _her_ foot on its back. She leaned down and hissed, "If I ever see you try and gain control again, I will personally end you."

The creature quickly agreed, trying to melt away. Rose felt a burst of energy swarm her and a final sickening screech from the monster. _It_ went silent and Rose began to regain consciousness. She had fought it off and succeeded. She was safe.

...For now…


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Anger and Canadians

 **A/N Hello my army of potatoes! I'm going to try and keep this short real quick. I just wanted yall to know that I have created a new DeviantArt account. The version is named after my username here, and I should be uploading more often. So I will not be doing anything on TheGoldenGlaceon anymore. Just wanted you to know.**

 **I do not own anything. Except... okay you get the gist of it.**

 **Amazing editor: McDragonRider (Cuz she's swagtacular)**

* * *

Rose felt her horns continue to be stroked. She slowly let her eyes crease open, revealing the professor sitting on her right, with Scott and Ororo on her left. She was dizzy, everything hurt, and she was in pain. She looked at them lazily, obviously not in any mood to move.

Xavier smiled and telepathically said, " _Hello there Rose…_ " The simple comment made her mind swell with pain. She cringed uncomfortably and adjusted herself; her mind was trying to kill her.

She looked at him tiredly, but she managed to telepathically say, "Thank you…"

He smiled, but a question was sketched into his face. He asked, "Why is that Rose?"

Rose would have smiled, but she felt herself starting to drift off again. She managed to say before she slipped off, "You didn't leave me…"

She passed out again and the strange aura began to emanate off of her again. Everyone quickly backed away, soon seeing Rose begin to morph into a new form. Her skin went from white to tan and her features became more distinct. Soon a mouth etched her face, her eyes were more clear, the color returned to her, and the horns and two extra arms faded away.

She had returned to her normal self, her form smaller and bare. Ororo went off and quickly grabbed an outfit for her to be put into. Xavier smiled and stroked her hair as he said, "Be safe Rose."

 **…**

The three girls sat alone in the room, in a triangle-like shape. PaperCut currently sat on Grace's lap, dozing off, and coming to occasionally. Abigail was the first to break the silence, "I didn't know that Rose was… a level four mutant."

Everyone nodded. Clare looked down and twiddled with her thumbs before managing out, "I guess this explains why she was always so scared to talk about it…"

Grace, for once, seemed really sorrowful. She nodded and brought PaperCut closer, hugging him gently before stating, "Why did she act like that though? It wasn't like we were going to attack her…"

Clare furrowed her brow at her comment. Attack… Wait. Clare straightened up and said, as if figuring it out, "What if it wasn't us?" They looked at Clare with a confused glance, indicating for her to continue, "She was always afraid of her own powers. So maybe she was afraid _she_ would hurt us. After watching her at night, I can see that she has something troubling her."

Abigail tiled her head a little bit, "You've been watching her while she sleeps?"

Clare face palmed, "No… Okay… One, we share a dorm room with her, and sometimes she falls asleep before me and I would glance at her. Two, when I dream, I sometimes enter other people's dreams by default. I haven't been able to fully enter her head, but what I've heard from her… it sounds like a living nightmare."

Grace looked at her and asked, "What did you see- er… hear?"

Clare went silent. Apparently whatever she had heard was enough to give her her own nightmares. She stayed silent for a moment before answering quietly, "I didn't see anything, but when I entered her mind, instead of feeling myself going into her mind it felt like something went into _my_ mind. It was talking about who someone was. It sounded like it was talking to me and it was reminding me of some of my past horrid memories, like it already knew I was there. It was real. When I woke up all I remember was the last thing it said to me…"

She paused, gathering her strength to continue. She took a deep breath and stated with terror, "It said, 'When I get out of this prison, you'll be the first one I kill.'" She shivered at the memory. Everyone went silent; their faces filled with fear.

 _Click._

Everyone gasped, but sighed in relief as they noticed a familiar girl walk in. Their faces paled a little, when they saw her look. It had been about two hours since the incident, but now… they didn't know what to think.

Rose was once again human, but her face was pale and she had giant bags under her eyes. She looked at them for a moment, before rasping out, "H-hi…"

Remembering their previous friend, they all smiled. Standing up, Grace was the first to bombard her with questions, "Are you okay? Are you living? That was so cool! Why didn't you tell us about your powers? Can you do it again? Oh, what we-"

Rose was quick to cut her off with a laugh, "Whoa, whoa, calm down tiger. Yes, I am fine now, just really, _really_ , tired. I am living. I… guess it was... cool?" She seemed to question herself on the words before continuing on, "I didn't tell you because… I was scared…" She sighed and looked down before finishing, "And I'd rather not do it again… it's hard to explain."

Clare smiled and came to her side, before placing her hand on her shoulder and saying, "It's alright, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Rose flinched at the touch. She was still so sore from the battle within her own mind, which she still refused to tell Xavier about. She was scared they would see her as a freak, for having a voice in her head. It wasn't her fault she was like this.

Clare brought her hand away and asked worriedly, "I'm sorry! What happened?"

Rose adjusted herself and rubbed her shoulder, remembering when _Its_ tentacle wrapped around her neck. She shivered and said timidly, "It… It just hurts after I transform back…"

They all made an 'oh' face and Abigail rushed to her drawer, pulling out some rather comfy clothes for her. She came back and said, "How about you go get into some more comfortable clothes and we can go get dinner, then you can go hit the hay early."

Rose smiled and nodded, silently taking the clothes and heading towards the restroom.

 **…**

Rose came out wearing sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt. She saw her friends standing near the door and she smiled. She slowly approached them, her eyes still dripping in their tired state. She yawned and said, "Alright, lunch?"

They all nodded happily and she felt a familiar, friendly presence on her shoulder. She peered over and saw the tiny paper robot staring at her. She smiled and stated in a raspy voice, "Hello to you too."

They all gave a series of giggles and walked off into the halls, children and fellow students already running about. Most of them went silent at the sight of Rose's presence. Obviously her story had already spread through the whole school. She entered the kitchen and everything went silent. Rose looked down awkwardly and went to the fridge, grabbing a full meal this time.

She came to sit with her friends and looked down awkwardly, not wanting to make any eye contact, until someone interrupted her. "Dude! Is it true that you turned into some freaky looking creature in the Danger Room?!"

She peered up to have her eyes meet a bunch of young boys' gazes. She looked away awkwardly and nodded, not wanting to meet their eyes. However that plan was ruined when they all sat down at her table. They began to eat while questioning her, "So, I hear that you look awesome, like some sort of monster. That's so cool! What kind of powers do you have? We heard that you scared the living daylights out Miss Munroe. That's pretty cool, so what are your-"

 _BAM!_

Rose slammed her fist onto the table, anger creeping into her mind. The once slowly growing noise in the kitchen had died away again. She was now standing and staring down the boys with a killer glare. Their faces went pale.

She stared at them and hissed out, "Listen kids, I know you like new people and finding out about their powers, but just leave me alone. It's better for you to not get tangled with me, or else… it… it…" She couldn't finish. It hurt too much. She glared at them for a moment longer, before finishing, "Please excuse me…"

She left without another word, storming down the halls and arriving at her dorm room. She entered and slammed the door closed. Rose went to the bunk and sat on it. She hated it when people would call her powers neat or special.

She sighed and felt sleep creep into her mind. She looked down to her mattress, now it looked strangely inviting. She smiled and leaned into it, letting sleep consume her whole.

 **…**

The next day, to say the least, was miserable. Rose had earned strange looks from the students and younger teachers the whole day.

She was about to leave to go to Xavier's class when she was stopped. "Vose? Could I sveak vith vou vor a moment?"

Rose spun around and nodded kindly. She slowly approached him and asked, "Yes, Mr. Wagner?"

He teleported to be behind his desk. Rose had just learned that he was a teleporter afterall. He gestured for her to take a seat, which she complied with and sat patiently. He played with his tail and finally looked up to ask, "How are vou veeling?"

She tilted her head and answered, "I'm fine, sir. Why, might I ask?"

He stopped playing with his tail and said, "Vell, I vas just vorried. I knew vat vou had just transvormed… I didn't know iv it hurt or anyving."

Rose smiled at his kindness, and answered, "Well, I am a little sore, but that's only because it was only the second time I've ever changed. It just hurts sometimes, but everything else is good. Thank you, Mr. Wagner."

Kurt smiled and nodded, indicating that she could leave. Which she did.

She barely got into Xavier's class on time. Upon entering, she saw the fellow students faces in awe. She looked around awkwardly before grabbing a seat next to Xavier. He smiled and said to her, "Rose? Would you like to speak of your powers now?"

Rose looked up at him awkwardly. She took a deep breath and nodded shyly. She then faced the class and said, "I-I'm Rose Shlen… I have the powers of telepathy and telekinesis, which is in the form of a silvery haze. To get my major powers I must morph into another form… I-I also have the power of teleportation… but I don't use it often…"

She drifted off and looked to the side, obviously uncomfortable talking about it. However, Xavier saw something else: she was hiding something from them. There was something else that was there, that was too terrible for her to speak of.

Xavier frowned, staring at her. He tried to gently go into her mind, but instead he was pushed out. He was quite surprised at that. Rose spoke to him through telepathy with a plea, "I respect that you want to know more about me, but one thing you can't know is my past."

Xavier peered at her, a frown etching on his face. He was still questioning her decisions, but he sighed and nodded. He faced back to the class and smiled, "How about we get started?"

 **…**

Rose stood and was about to leave the class, but she was stopped by Xavier. "Rose, please, can I speak with you for a moment?"

Rose turned, but at the same time she was curious. Rose nodded nervously and sat down in front of him. Xavier looked her over and said, "Why don't you want me to know about your other power?"

Rose's face paled. Of course, he _had_ to ask that question and there was no way she could lie. He was telepathic after all. She maneuvered in her chair and looked away, unable to meet his gaze. Xavier frowned and said, "Rose, please, answer me."

Rose's eyes flamed a little. She glared at him, something else taking over her mind. She hadn't intended for it to come out, "WHAT?! I don't want to tell you for you and your students own goods! I'm more dangerous than anyone in this school! I have to try and not get attached to anyone, because then if… if it happens again, I don't have to cry over it again. WHY COULDN'T I HAVE JUST DIED THAT DAY?!"

Now tears filled her eyes and they were threatening to spill. Xavier's look went from worry to absolute shock. She had never been like this before. She didn't even realize it. She saw his fear and that clicked something in her mind. Her eyes flashed a little and her tenseness left her, making her tremble with sorrow.

She stood and slowly walked towards the door, still facing Xavier in shock. She choked out, "I-I didn't… It… it came out again… I-"

She swung the door open and was about to storm out, but in the process ran into a man. She peered up and met the face of a stranger. She backed up and looked down at the floor, mumbling something about apologizing before running out.

The man watched her and then spun around to look at Xavier. He threw a thumb in her direction and asked, "Who's the girl?"

Xavier came out of his daze, looking towards his old friend. He smiled and answered, "That would be Rose Shlen, she's new."

The man stepped further into the room and took a seat while pulling out a cigar and going to chew on it. In the process, he asked, "I heard what went on in here, what caused her to lose it?"

Xavier frowned and leaned back in his wheelchair. He answered, "She is trying to block me out. She wants to hide something and I don't know why. When she burst into rage, I was able to catch something in her mind in the process. I looked into her mind and saw nothing. It was like she wasn't there anymore, that something else took over, something even more powerful."

The man frowned and leaned back, now smoking on his cigar. He asked, "So what kind of powers are we looking at?"

Xavier answered rather quickly, "She has minor telepathy and teleportation. She also has major telekinesis. She can also mutate into another form, increasing her powers by great amounts."

The man's frown deepened and asked, "What level?"

Xavier answered, "A level four on her way to five."

The man added in, "What does she look like when she's in her other form?" Xavier pulled up a picture of yesterday's encounter and the man's jaw dropped at the video feed. He said in an unusually calm voice, "She seems pretty scared of herself… any clue why?"

Xavier shrugged and said, "She seemed to be afraid of her own powers, but we don't know why. She kept speaking of someone, not using their name, but only the word 'It'. The way she put it, it was like _It_ was the worst thing ever."

The man frowned and asked, "Where did she come from?"

Xavier answered a bit saddened, "Well, a couple of days ago she appeared at our door, with another man. They had come from a mutant prison. The man had to go, but he mentioned something about her when she was younger. She seems to be hiding her powers for good intentions."

The man asked, "What about before the prison?" Xavier shrugged and the man continued, "She seemed powerful, I bet I could get to her. Want me to train her?"

Xavier looked at him pleadingly as he nodded and said, "That would be great. If you could do that next week, I would greatly appreciate that."

The man nodded, stood, and was about to leave when Xavier finished, "Thank you, Logan."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Logan's Theory

 **A/N Hello! I just want to say that from here the story is going to take a 'turn' if you don't get what I mean... I'm sorry.**

 **I do not own anyone, unless- oh, you know the drill!**

 **Everything you _do_ recognize is owned by Stan Lee and Marvel!**

* * *

Rose had gone through the week without a care in the world. During the Danger Room, she had opted to sit out and Scott and Ororo were always okay with that. So she watched, never wanting to interfere; afraid of how _It_ might come out.

She had been afraid to speak with Xavier after the incident. She'd been avoiding his gaze and purposely blocking him out, never wanting to hear from him. She would always leave early and arrive late, only sitting in the back now, and never answering a single thing. But today was a little different.

 **…**

Everyone in the dorm was sleeping soundly that morning. It had to have been 3 am, but something interrupted their slumber. "Rose! Get up!"

Everyone mumbled in anger and the voice continued, beginning to pound on the door. Grace threw a spare pillow down and it hit Rose in the face. She quickly shot up, hitting her forehead in the process. She rubbed it and growled, going angrily to the door, opening it up and yelling, "What?!"

She was met with the face of the new man she had seen a week ago on _that_ day. She was now wide awake. A light blush spread across her face and the man stated, "Rose, right? I'm Logan. I heard about your little fiasco last Tuesday. I wanted to talk to you about harnessing that power and-"

She slammed the door in his face, pressing her back into the door. She slid down to sit on the floor and Logan yelled from outside the door, "Kid, I get it! You're nervous! Come out!"

About now the three other girls, along with PaperCut, came up to her. Clare was rubbing her eyes, Grace was still half asleep, but Abigail seemed pretty awake so she asked, "Who is it?"

Rose put her hands on her forehead and moaned out quietly, "Logan…"

Clare, Grace, and Abigail looked at her with a dumbfounded look. They had woken up for this? They all scowled and Grace smirked as a thought crossed her mind.

 **…**

Rose was shoved out of the room with a broomstick and a single sentence echoed from them, "Get out there and be a mutant!"

Rose was shoved out and was about to turn around and yell something, but they threw a sports bra and sweatpants in her face. She recoiled and and took the items off of her face, just in time to see the door slam shut. She flinched and remembered that someone else was there. Slowly, she turned and saw Logan standing behind her.

She smiled and laughed awkwardly. She said, "H-hi… I… uh…"

"No need, kid." He stated, "I get it. You're afraid of yourself, I was the same when I discovered my powers."

Rose scoffed, "Oh yeah? Yours can't be as bad as mine."

Logan frowned and the cutting of skin and metal was heard. She peered down and now three daggers were in his hands. Her jaw dropped and she watched as then they went back up into his knuckles. She peered up and noticed Logan's unamused face. He smiled, not a normal sincere smile, but a sarcastic one. He asked, "Happy now?"

Rose faced away awkwardly and nodded, mumbling under her breath, "Mine are still worse…"

They now began to walk down the hallway leading to the gym room. When they finally reached the room, Logan entered, while turning and saying, "Go put on your clothes."

Rose stared at him for a moment, before nodding and walking off nervously.

 **…**

Rose entered the gym, just after finishing her hand wraps. There on the battle mats stood Logan. She watched him nervously and then stepped onto the mat, taking off her sandals in the process. Logan stood there with his own sweatpants and tank on. She nervously approached and stood watching him patiently.

Logan peered up and saw her, not saying a word, but instead gestured for her to come stand in front of him. She nodded and took shaky steps forward, to where she faced him. He still didn't show any emotion; he just stared at her nervous form.

He backed up and began to put on foot wraps. She watched nervously and he peered up at her, seeing that she didn't have any on. He asked, "Want to put some wraps on your feet?"

Rose looked down awkwardly and said, "They… They'll just break…"

He glanced up at her and wondered why, but ignored it quickly. He stood back up and asked, "What kind of fighting styles do you know, kid?"

Rose looked at him shakily and answered, "I… I know basic hand to hand martial arts and also military self defense…"

He nodded and said, "Alright kid, I wanted to talk with you about your powers. I was told about how you can't exactly control them." Rose shifted nervously on her feet, but he continued on, "So how about you morph into your form and we work on your control?"

Rose looked down and didn't answer. He waited patiently, thinking that she was trying to do it. When a minute passed and nothing happened he asked, "Kid? You going to morph now?" She stayed silent, but he faintly heard her mumble something under her breath. He asked, "Come again?"

She looked up, fear in her eyes, "I-I don't know how to…"

Logan raised a brow and asked, "You did it once, surely you can do it again." Rose shook her head sadly and Logan asked, "Well, why not?"

Rose struggled to get the words out of her mouth. She finally managed to get out, her tone slightly shaken, "I-It just comes out… I… I can't control it."

Logan frowned and crossed his arms. He looked at her unamused and said, "Yes you can, there's always a way. So how about we do that? Let's see if we can get you transformed at least. Sound alright, kid?"

Rose glanced up in pure terror. She choked out, "What?!" He nodded and she trembled. She really didn't feel like doing that this morning. She glanced around the room and didn't know what to do. Sighing, she just leaned her head down and nodded sadly. Logan watched in surprise that she was agreeing.

He nodded as well, in a form of shaking off the shock, and he walked around her. He remembered teaching some of the other kids, so this would be different. He looked at her neck and saw a tiny scar. He touched it and Rose was quick to cover it up with her hair. It made Logan curious, but he ignored it and continued to walk around her.

"Focus your powers completely on changing, shifting." She closed her eyes, focusing on his words. "Breathe deeply, make every source of energy go into that command. You are one with your powers. _You_ are in charge of them, no one else. Not even _It_."

Wait. How did he know about _It_? She shook the thought off and focused more on her powers. She listened closer, "Your powers are a mindset and like a mindset, you must get into it. Unlock that area of the mind, focus hard on it. You want to do this. You are in charge of it. You are in control."

She breathed heavily and felt something inside of her. Unlike all the other times when her powers would come, it felt nice, warm even. She stood there for a moment, feeling her energy draining. She waited for it to happen, just letting it take over. She felt herself go dizzy and obviously Logan could tell.

"Don't give way to your fears, you are in charge. You can control this if you put your mind to it. Don't give way." He paused for a moment, "Don't let your monsters take over."

Her body felt as if it burst into flames, but just as quickly, the pain was extinguished. Suddenly, she felt an icy cold wave fill her and she felt her body change. Logan's breath gave a hitch.

She stayed silent for a moment, before opening her eyes. She now stood a little bit lower than Logan. She felt powerful and dangerous. She looked at him nervously. His face was a bit in shock and awe. She peered down nervously and noticed that her bra was on the edge of snapping. This was mainly due to her two extra limbs. Her sweatpants were on the brink of disaster and now her ankles showed, revealing her grey bandana wrapped that she had around her right ankle.

She felt weird now and began to panic. She quickly brought up her two top hands, making her other two come up in the process. She nervously looked at them as she had no clue how to use her new limbs. She started to back away, used to landing on her heels, but this time she landed on her back. She wasn't used to walking in her new form as of yet.

In the process of landing, a silver aura came out from around her. Logan snapped out of his haze, as he felt a bolt of energy as the wave hit him. He rushed to her side and quickly got her to her feet, which only made her panic more. Logan mumbled under his breath, "This may be harder than I thought."

 **…**

After using the whole morning to simply learn how to walk and control the extra limbs, they took a break. Rose was currently trying to learn how to hold a cup, while Logan was taking a drink of water.

Rose finally managed to have a firm hold on the cup and cheered, "I did it! Yes, I finally freaking did it!"

Her top hands were in the cheering position, while her bottom two were holding a cup. Logan peered up and smirked, "Nice one kid." He said proudly.

Suddenly, he had an idea come across his mind. Rose had now gotten most of the basics of daily life down, but if he had to do this every morning, it just wouldn't work. So, he decided to have her learn in what his opinion was the best: on the go. He stood and noticed the time; it was six.

Great, that meant she probably needed to get going soon… He stood and took the cup out of her hands with ease. She stared at him in slight shock. If her mouth was there, her jaw would have hit the floor. She had spent about fifteen minutes trying to grab a cup and then it was gone just as soon as it had happened.

He tossed it aside, given the fact it was just styrofoam. He went and stood in front of her with his arms crossed. Rose thought this was the next exercise and began to attempt crossing her upper arms, while trying to keep her bottom two at her side. Unfortunately, this was way too difficult at this point. Logan let his head fall into his hands; this would _definitely_ take a while.

Rose noticed this and quickly put the pieces together, awkwardly putting her four arms back by her side. Logan sighed and said, "So I've come to the conclusion that it will take a while for you to relearn everything. So, as I am a true believer in learning on the go…"

Rose's eyes went huge; she knew where this was going. Logan stated, "So, how about you go through the whole day in this form. Your natural senses will kick in and you will start to learn on your own. You just have to go with it. Have a nice day, kid!"

Before she could say a word in defense, Logan stormed out. Rose looked around worriedly, realizing she needed to go back to the room. She slowly began to take some steps forward and ended up by the door. She stared at the door handle intensely, her eyes knit in a glare.

" _Alright Rose… You can do it. It's just a door knob. You have fought against your inner monsters, you fought Fernando's gang, you were raised in a freaking prison! Get your act together, one step at a time…_ " She shakily raised her upper right hand, placing it firmly on the knob, trying to gain more confidence, " _Okay… deep breath… you can do this. Just… turn the knob, one, two-_ "

Before she could attempt to open the door, it opened on its own revealing Piotr on the other side. He was about to walk in, but paused when he saw Rose in front of him. Now a bit taller, she was able to reach his neck, rather than mid-chest. He noticed Rose's awkwardness and asked, "Rose?"

Rose looked up at him worriedly and made her eyes into a quirked expression. He chuckled and moved out of the way for her. She awkwardly stepped through and glanced back at him, as he walked through. She waved goodbye and began to trample through the halls. Unfortunately four arms came with a heavy burden of balance…

She was tripping over her feet and would occasionally have to catch herself on the wall, punching holes in the wall in the process. Well… those walls needed new decor anyway…

She continued to flail down the halls and it wasn't until she got to the stairs that she realized that she couldn't do it. She slumped like she had just lost the biggest goal in the world. She sat down and stared at the stairs trying to think of what to do. It wasn't until she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, that she really came out of her thoughts.

She was now on the back of someone and her two bottom arms were wrapped around someone's waist, while her upper two were wrapped around a neck. She soon realized she was actually on someone and quickly snapped back into reality. She gasped and started to flail around, "Unhand me you fiend!"

She then realized that the captor's grasp tightened, not in a rude way, but a kind, soft way. The captor turned his face and looked at her. It was Piotr! Her face lit up and he chuckled. He said, "I saw that you were having trouble. Let me guess… Logan said learn on the go. Am I right?"

Rose slumped and let her chin rest on his shoulder. She puffed out a sigh and said, "You know it."

If Rose did have a mouth, she would have been smiling, then she realized something: she had little control over her emotions while in this state. She immediately went silent and focused on keeping calm. Finally, she realized she made it to her dorm room and Piotr put her on her feet. Rose wobbled a little before finally gaining her balance.

Piotr opened the door for her and gestured for her to walk in. Rose nodded in acknowledgement and took a wide step inside. She stood there patiently, thinking that she was fine, until she felt the door slam into her back and she was shoved forward. Only one thought came across her mind: " _Crap._ "

She tripped forward and tried to grab the wall, but in the end only grabbing a curtain. She then proceeded to try and land with her four hands, but only ended up landing on some other clothes. They then attempted to wrap themselves around her, blinding her for the time being. She began to flail her arms around trying to find a wall to support her, but only proceeded to knock off multiple items from the shelves. She tripped over something else and ended up toppling atop Clare, who yelled, "It's the Boogie Man!"

By the end of it, everyone was screaming and Rose earned a smack to the jaw. All she saw after that was darkness. It turned out that she hadn't blacked out and that it was just the piles of clothing on her head.

Finally everyone calmed down and decided to help their now four-armed friend. They began to take off the piles of clothing on her head and were startled by what was underneath. There sat a creature that was unlike many things they had seen. It was the creature that they had seen on _that_ day.

Rose looked at them awkwardly and waved her upper right hand, while the other followed. They could hear an awkward chuckle followed with the sentence, "Hi guys… sorry to wake you."

Everyone's jaws dropped. Clare choked out, "Why are you in this form? Why aren't you looking normal?"

Rose slumped and began to twiddle with her fingers. She responded with a bit of annoyance in her tone, "Logan is a strong believer in "learning on the go." So he said that I need to just go throughout the day in this form, just to get the basics down."

She slumped more and began to poke the floor, while the others looked on in a bit of amusement. Abigail, being the most mature of them all, noticed her destroyed clothing. She frowned and asked, "What are the biggest clothes you have?"

Rose shrugged and said, "I have a big grey t-shirt and some bigger sweat pants, but that's it."

Abigail frowned and said, "With your size, I highly doubt it'll fit you."

Rose frowned at her comment and shot back, "Are you calling me fat?" Her eyes began to glow slightly and Abigail was quick to calm her.

"No, I'm saying that you're larger in scale, not in width, but height." She snapped her fingers and continued, "I know! I remember seeing something in the danger room that should fit you!"

She jumped up and literally turned into a bat; going off and flying to the danger room. Rose watched in shock, having never actually seen her powers before. She raised all four of her hands and began to rub her head. Each hand in a specific place and she sighed, "Am I going crazy too?"

Clare sighed and answered, "It's just her powers. You're not seeing things, don't worry about it."

Rose sighed and watched as soon as Abigail came back, now carrying what looked like a large dress. It was silver and black and it was long, too; long enough that it would definitely drag behind her. It also had a certain samurai-like look to it. It only had one problem: it only had two sleeves.

Rose took a moment to look at it then she sighed and nodded, slowly standing up and grabbing the gown. She charged to the restroom, intending to figure out a way to add another two arm holes and then change into the dress. This, indeed, would be a _long_ day.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Adaptions

 **A/N OMG, it's actually chapter ten! I feel like I accomplished something, but I'm not really sure what it is... anywho, hope ya enjoys! (Minor warning, near the end it gets a lil' creepy)**

 **I don't own anything (Except those ones I _do_ own)**

 **McDragonRider is awesome.**

* * *

Rose finally came out of the restroom after managing to get on the gown, unfortunately causing some new sleeves to be created in the process. It was long and reminded them all of a Japanese samurai outfit. It was very large and gave her a lot of space to roam around with.

She stepped into view and saw her companions. Abigail gasped, "Darling! You look absolutely gorgeous!"

Rose didn't respond, but instead came to the table next to her bunk. There was one thing good about her four arms: she could grab everything she needed with ease. Her bottom right held her History and Language Arts textbooks, while her bottom left held the Technology book.

She came to be by her friends and asked, "Where to?"

Grace yelled, "Let's get food!"

Everyone face palmed and so did Rose, but then they all shrugged and nodded. Clare had noticed something and asked, "Wait, if you don't have a mouth, how are you talking?"

Rose answered, even without her mouth, "The Professor tells me it's telepathy. I don't have a mouth, but the way I speak is through my brainwaves becoming soundwaves. It's really difficult to explain, the only reason I understood was because of-" She paused as the thought of Thomas came back to her. She really missed him. She refused to show it, so she finished before they could question her pause, "A… a friend. A really good friend."

Everyone smiled and her eyes glinted with happiness, yet Clare stayed silent. She could tell that something was wrong, but she didn't say a thing. She could tell that Rose was opening up and she didn't want to hurt her. She would wait 'til the right time.

They went to the door and opened it, quickly leaving to go to the kitchen. They arrived there rather quickly and were greeted with the chattering of some of the early-birds, along with Kurt. Once Rose entered though, everything went silent. Everyone stared at her, while she looked away embarrassingly. She came to a table and tried to sit down to the best of her abilities.

She managed, with her bottom two hands gripping the table for dear life. She had to focus very hard on how to do this, for the sake of sanity and normality.

She stayed silent and watched her friends come back. They sat down and smiled, but when she noticed Grace's absence, she began to worry. Suddenly, she felt the sudden grip of hands on her shoulders and an all too familiar voice yelling, "HEY ROSE!"

Rose's eyes widened in shock and a flash of silver filtered through the room. When it dimmed away, Rose had disappeared from where she was sitting a moment before. Grace watched in shock and looked around worriedly. _Vworp!_ Rose reappeared right over Grace and was unfortunately not blessed with the power of hovering. The Earth's gravity pulled on Rose, which caused her to come tumbling atop the unknowing Grace.

Grace flailed around as she fell onto her stomach with Rose sitting on top of her. Rose covered her face with her four hands and didn't acknowledge the fact that she was still atop Grace. That was, until she heard the gasping chokes of her voice, "You're… killing… me…"

Rose gasped and jumped up, to the best of her abilities, and helped Grace onto her feet. Grace was panting for breath, but she managed to cough out, "My life… just flashed… before my eyes…"

Everyone laughed, but was interrupted. _Vworp!_ They peered at the empty seat and saw a familiar blue, fuzzy, elf: Kurt. Kurt's tail wandered about for a little, while everyone watched in surprise. He finally asked, "You are a televorver too?"

Rose nodded and took a seat, along with an aching Grace. Everyone was busy eating and Kurt just nodded before teleporting off again, which was a bit strange for her taste. She would have liked eating, but not having a mouth made it a bit more… difficult. So she just stared at her food instead, trying to remember the tastes she had once had.

Finally the bell rang, indicating that first period was about to start. She ran off and found her way into History. This would be a _long_ day.

 **…**

She didn't even know how she had made it to fourth period that day. How she had even managed to hold a pencil was beyond her, but she guessed Logan was right about instincts kicking in. Yet, of course, taking up room in the front of class and walking down the hallways was a bit annoying. Still one thing which caught her off guard the most was how… relaxed she was.

For once, she felt safe without that… thing crawling into her thoughts. She felt in control, like she was actually herself. Sane. She felt like a normal person. (Minus the mouth, ears, horns, four arms, white skin, and gem on her forehead. She was a completely normal person!

"Rose? Do you want to try today, since you're already… in your form."

Rose snapped from her thoughts and looked at the crowd of children. She was allowed to still wear her outfit in the danger room, given the fact that they haven't made her an outfit, at least not for this form. She looked at Ororo for a moment, then something very surprising came out of her thoughts, "Sure!"

 _Had she actually just said that? By the way the other students were leaving, yep. She looked around, not in a petrified way, but in a way of thought as she planned her attack. She didn't even hear Ororo come onto the radio to speak; she only felt her powers raising and commanding her. Rose closed her eyes and listened. Her senses raising by the seconds, everything becoming so much more sensitive._

She could feel everything. Even all the way in the control room where the others were, she could feel their pulses. Each one. She easily picked each person's out from the rest. Even the non existent wind had meaning. She could feel the stiff air, from nothing moving, until one tiny, so tiny that even a mouse couldn't feel it. Yet still, she felt it. _Chk_. That tiny noise. She recognized it.

It was the noise of when the floor opened up to reveal the droids. She remembered it when she had first went in and when _It_ had bothered her. This time, she wouldn't let _It_ bother her again. She refused to let _It_ taunt her. She was strong, she was raised in a prison, raised by the strongest, and… and… and did the unthinkable. _She_ , not _It_ , was in control.

She could feel it in the floor: four slow thuds on the ground. It was strange. While her eyes were closed she could see so clearly. Little rings of silver emanated from her, like a radar and whenever they hit something, it came back to her, allowing her to see everything in her surroundings. That's what she saw with her eyes closed. In fact, she hadn't noticed it till now, that's what she had always seen. Ever since she had become this form that was all she saw, yet there was always so much noise in the world that it would become a clear picture. Now, it was silent, and only the soft sounds of peds against the hard metal floor was heard.

Everything went silent. She was blinded for a moment, everything black, until she felt the tiniest of winds brush past her features. Echolocation kicking in immediately, she was able to recognize a robotic arm launching at her mask like face. But she wanted to see… clearly.

She slammed her foot into the ground so fast, that still the android's hand hadn't hit her face. A wave of color consumed the room, causing everything for Rose to come into focus. Now she was ready.

Right when someone would think the droid would land a hit, Rose would grab its wrist and fling it over her. Sometimes causing it to land on another droid. _Tck!_ She recognized that noise well: it was a stun ray. That semi-loud noise filled the room again, revealing a clear picture, along with the helpful noise of the broken droids clanging together, which made it ring and gave her the image a bit longer. She turned around and finally opened her eyes, catching everyone by surprise.

Her four hands shot up, a silvery haze surrounding them. Each hand had its own pose to it: one was in a fist, one was showing the palm, one like a knife, and one in a contorted position like it was casting a magic spell. That wasn't what was weird though, it is what happened _afterwards_. Before the stun ray could hit, it had stopped inches away from her in a blob of energy. It had been captured by the even brighter color of silver, which now surrounded both stun rays that the other two droids had fired. Silver energy and red energy combine to create a swirl within a more powerful force, which in this case was Rose's silvery haze.

Rose was blinded for a moment and would every so often receive a flash of an image from the zapping of the energy combination. Only two flashes were enough to tell her where the two other robots were. She let her eyes give another silvery flash and let the energy around the red force disappear. In that time, she had corrected the course of the shots towards the robots.

The energy was sent flying and pierced the android armor with power, making both of the droids glitch their entire systems and go offline. They fell to the ground, giving one final clear image before giving a last puff of smoke. Everything went black for her, until she heard a shot. A puff of smoke surrounded her and she was gone.

Storm cried, "Rose!" before they heard a familiar _vworp_.

They peered out and noticed the familiar white, ghost-like creature landing on top of the online droid. She shot out her four hands and tore them into the chest, ripping it open and beginning to tear out the inside mechanisms. Scott noticed something odd in Rose. Her once previous state of calm had disappeared. At least… it was beginning to dwindle away. He could feel it: the air was growing thin and stagnant. He turned to Storm and said commandingly, "Give me the mic."

She did and he took it up, quickly speaking into it, "Rose. Rose!" She continued to tear into the robot, yet her energy seemed to dwindle. She was listening to him and he knew it. He stated calmly, "Rose you're done. You can stop. It's over." Rose paused, obviously listening to his words. One final thing confirmed it for her, "Stay in control."

She gained control and the previous feeling in the air faded away. She was in control and it was true. She paused and shook her head and a sense of dizziness came upon her. She straightened up and rubbed her head, feeling all forms of previous power fading away. She wobbled on her feet for a moment, everything silent, until she noticed the small sounds of footsteps, which were gradually followed by voices and cheers. When Rose opened her eyes, she was greeted with a full, clear picture.

Color returning to its previous state and non flashy images fading away to reveal full motion. Everything was real again. She would have liked to say something, had it not been for her aching head.

The other students began to bombard her with questions, while she struggled to keep up. She looked at all of them with confusion, until Scott shoved forward and began to push the students back, while Storm yelled, "Give her some room!"

Scott stepped forward and looked into Rose's confused eyes. He asked calmly, "Rose?" She slowly gazed up, though confusion was clear in her gaze. "Are you alright? How do you feel?"

She took a moment before letting her cheerful emotions fill her eyes. It was her only way of letting her show them her emotions, along with her body actions. She responded happily, yet her tone dripped with sarcasm, "Like I have been hit by a brick twelve times in a row."

Some people laughed while others just smiled. Scott nodded and replied by patting her shoulder. He said, "That was a nice one kid. Good job." Some others helped Rose to her feet, then she was guided to the control tower, where they watched the rest of the class work.

Right before they entered Scott came up to her and asked, "So Rose, any idea on what you want your codename to be?"

Rose looked at him for a moment before nodding and replying with, "Soulseeker."

 **…**

Rose entered the dorm tiredly. It had been a long day, but it had been a good one overall. She was as happy as ever and gladly answered some of the other students questions on why she had felt different. She even told Logan when she had the chance to see him. Unsurprisingly, he wasn't amused and had suspected it from the beginning.

Yet now she tiredly entered her dorm, flopping onto her bed and letting the warm comfort of the mattress greet her. One thing bad about being tall and having extra limbs, was that it took a _lot_ out of her. She moaned into the sheets and just laid there for a few more moments…

Suddenly a bloodcurdling scream filled the school. Rose shot up and peered around the room. Who had done the scream was beyond her, but she needed to venture into it. Why? She had no clue, but her heart pulled her to do so. She jumped up and entered the halls, seeing a crowd of children far down the hallway. She slowly began to walk over, feeling a dark presence come over her. Something was very, _very_ , wrong.

She saw the crowd of children, but they wouldn't let her through. They pushed her back, not letting her see. She managed to teleport a short distance to get to the front, unfortunately regretting it the moment she did so.

A school student laid in the middle of the floor, but there was only one problem: he… he was dead. A large gash was in the center of the chest, blood pooling around his body and words written on the wall, in his own blood.

" _I told you the Insanity would come back._ " Right then and there, Rose began to hyperventilate. She backed up far and bumped into someone. She turned and said rather quickly, "I… I… I'm sorry-" She went silent at the sight before her. Each child… each student had blood on their clothing. They stared at her without comprehension, each one more crazed than the others. Rose began to choke on her tears and backed away into the wall, trying to not let them get to her. She slid down the wall and covered her head with her four arms, rocking back and forth on the floor.

She let tears flow down her face in terror, pleading. Why? _Why_ did this world hate her? She began to hear the children chant, "When time strikes dead, then all shall go silent. Insanity will take control, the world turned to darkness." They kept repeating it, getting closer and closer to Rose. Not attacking her in anyway, just taunting her.

Only one voice came to her, " _I told you I would come back Ose…_ "

She felt something reach under her chin, trying to grab her face, but she refused. She screeched, "NO!"

 **…**

Rose shot up screaming, not yet noticing that something was different about her, until she went silent. It was a dream. It was only a dream! She panted heavily and placed her hand on her heart for reassurance. She sighed in relief and everything went back to normal.

"I don't think I'm going to sleep like this anymore…"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Stories and Truth

 **A/N ERMAHGERD I'm sorry about this late, although it's only been a day, submission! I hope you can forgive me! Anyways... I want to tell you that that these next three chapters have to be my favorite's of all time! But warning, they are very dark and this one has some of the creepiness factors to it... but especially thirteen... (Turns at hearing something similar to a growl) But... uh... p-please enjoy... and don't forget to R & R.**

 **I don't own anything! (Except the obvious things I do own)**

 **This waas edited by McDragonRider, she is a unicorn.**

 _Please enjoy~_

* * *

It had been a full month now and Rose was having the time of her life. For once she actually felt normal and she was really starting to open up. More often than not, she would go into her other form during times of stress, but today was something different.

A few days earlier, Grace had managed to bribe all of them into going on the "field" trip with her or r as others knew it: a trip for training your skills of strength. Which, to say the least, Abigail, Clare, and Rose loathed to do, but now was the day of traveling.

About twenty kids poured into the last bus, among them being Rogue, Bobby, Kitty, Grace, Clare, Abigail, and Rose herself. They all piled into the back, along with a couple of other teachers: Kurt and a new one she hadn't quite met yet: Hank McCoy.

It had been an hour and for the good of safety, the professor had recommended traveling by night to stay unseen. So Rose stayed silent and stared out the window watching the pitch, black horizon fly by. It wasn't until she heard Kitty call something through the others' previous conversation that she turned to the rest of them, "We should say scary stories!"

They all glanced at her and Rose was suspecting everyone to disagree, but to her dismay they didn't. Bobby said, "Yeah! We should!"

Clare and Abigail agreed and of course Rogue did. A couple of others from the front agreed as well. Kurt chuckled. Kitty clapped in finality and exclaimed, "Alright! I know a good one." Everyone in the bus went quiet and listened to her story.

"I call it, _The Song_ …

"In the middle of a small town, there lived a little girl and her mother. The mother hated the little girl and tried constantly to kill her, but she always knew that the father would disagree for he loved his daughter with all of his heart.

"One day the mother made a plan, so she told the little girl, ' _I want you to take this vase and get water from the well, but if you break my vase, you will die._ ' The little girl didn't think much of it at the time and simply took the vase and went off towards the well. While she was coming back, she tripped and broke the vase, but thought that what her mother said was a joke.

"When she came back, the first thing the mother saw was that there was no vase, so she killed her and buried her body in the back. That night the father came home, wondering where his daughter was, but only to be told that she was at a friend's house. He was given the same answer for a couple more days, but one day the mother had a nightmare and it went like this…

" _Daddy I love you, Mommy I'm five blocks away._

 _Daddy I love you, Mommy I'm four blocks away._

 _Daddy I love you, Mommy I'm three blocks away._

 _Daddy I love you, Mommy I'm two blocks away._

 _Daddy I love you, Mommy I'm one blocks away._

 _Daddy I love you, Mommy I'm at your front door._

 _Daddy I love you, Mommy I'm coming up the stairs._

 _Daddy I love you, Mommy I'm coming down the hall._

 _Daddy I love you, Mommy I'm at your door._

 _Daddy I love you, Mommy I'm at your bed._

 _Daddy I love you-_

 _AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!_ "

Everyone began to freak out then. A lot of the younger kids screamed, while all the older kids rolled their eyes. Kitty finished, "While the dad was at work, he received a call. On the other end was the little girl and she asked, ' _Can I come home now Daddy?_ '"

Rogue burst out laughing, "What? What kind of ending is that? That was like a Twilight Zone episode! I've heard better." Rose rolled her eyes. She had heard better _real_ stories. Rogue then began to say her own story.

"This is something that I just remembered, actually. This happened when I was twelve and it happened in my bedroom I have always been really scared of dolls, ever since I was six years old and saw a horror movie about dolls coming to life. But even though I have a vivid imagination that can sometimes freak me out, I know that I was not imagining this. Like I said, I was twelve years old and it was in the middle of the night and I had just gone to bed.

Under my bed I had a big box containing the "Amazing Ally-doll" that I used to play with when I was nine or ten. Yes, I played with dolls when I was little but I played with toy cars and action figures as well and I still hadn't put it away in the attic, so it was still in its box under my bed. And since I was so scared of dolls in general, I had put silver tape all around the box... I know, I'm paranoid.

That night when I was trying to sleep, I suddenly heard the doll turning on under the bed and Ally began saying ' _Hi! My name is Ally! We're going to be best friends_ …' Blah blah blah. It was the same thing that the doll always said every time it was turned on and I just lay there, paralyzed, as I heard the doll speaking. Something that scared me even more was that, the next morning when I took the doll out of the box, I discovered that there were no batteries in it at all! That day, I got rid of that doll forever.

So what do you think about it? Do you think someone or something was just messing with me, or was it something bad?"

Rose rolled her eyes and scoffed under her breath. Did these people really think these were good? They weren't real enough. Ghosts? Songs? Dolls? It's to nice. Kitty's was pretty good, but still it was nothing compared to what she had heard before.

Unfortunately for Rose, Rogue had heard her scoff. She turned in anger and asked in annoyance, "What Rose? Think you have better? Why don't you say it then?"

Rose stared at her for a moment. Oh, she was really asking for it now. Rose had heard the best of stories from the prison, but which one to do? Ooh, how about _that_ one. It was perfect. Rose smirked and answered, "You know what? I've got the _perfect_ one." She readied herself and spoke.

"It started in a small town where a small family lived in a house. The mother, father, their eight year old daughter and their dog. They lived a nice life and were feeling very normal. The parents always loved their daughter, even though their daughter was a bit more strange. She never talked to others her age and she always said that she was playing with someone named 'Anity'. They only believed she was talking about an imaginary friend so they thought nothing of it.

"A year later, however, their daughter began to bully the other kids, while always blaming it on Anity, saying that Anity had told her to do it. It wasn't until she began to do this constantly that the parents worried. They thought that maybe she had schizophrenia. They took her to be tested, only to reveal that nothing was mentally wrong with her. So they began to worry that it had something to do with the other children or something she had seen on the television. They kept her isolated and away from the television, which seemed good for a time.

"They had hired a nanny to stay with their daughter for one day and they left. When they came back, they noticed that the door was wide open. They rushed in and were greeted with the most terrifying sight before them. The nanny had a knife in her chest, along with the words written on the wall in her own blood. ' _SHE DIDN'T LISTEN TO ME_ ' They thought a murderer was in the house and they ran about trying to find their daughter. They eventually found her in her room, but what they saw there made them petrified."

Every person's face on the bus went pale. Every voice that was once talking had gone silent, now listening to the horror story being unfolded. Rose was so into the story that it was scary. She didn't even notice everyone's face of terror from her story.

"Their daughter sat on the ground in the corner, holding their now dead dog. The dog's neck was snapped and blood was on their daughter's face. Her eyes were wide open and twitching and she was shaking, petting her dead dog, and mumbling these words under her breath: ' _Anity said to. Anity did it. Anity said she didn't listen._ '

"The parents were scared of their own child so they sent her away to a child's asylum, claiming that she had schizophrenia, and explaining the rest. The parents wanted nothing to do with their child so they disowned her, called her a freak, signed the paperwork and left.

"In the asylum, her episodes had become rare and she was seemingly helpful to the officers. She was always helping them and being kind. It seemed that Anity had disappeared for good. What they didn't know is that Anity was always there, just storing up the rage and hatred inside the little girl.

"One day, the SWAT team arrived at the asylum, having received a call that one of the children had lost it and was killing the other children and officers. The minute that they entered through the doors, it was like entering a living nightmare.

"Along the wall, was a line of dead children. Their eyes gouged out, fake hearts carved into their foreheads and chests, each one's hands all stitched together. The blood of all the children were on the wall, revealing the terrifying sentence, 'THEY COULDN'T SEE ME'.

"The team continued up the steps and arrived at the next level, where there were officers who were hung from the poles on the ceiling. Their eyes gouged out as well, with their blood smeared across the walls as words, 'I MADE THEM SEE' They continued on and now blood was smeared going up the stairs. 'THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR, BUT FEAR ITSELF'.

"They arrived at the top and were greeted by an open window and the lead officer who was the most brutally disfigured. Yet that wasn't what caught their attention. It was what was near the window: 'I AM FEAR'. They had never seen such a murder and they never knew what happened to the little girl. Most people assume that she had killed herself and that 'Anity' roams the lands looking for its next victim. Some people even say that if you listen closely in those woods you can hear the children's cries of fear when the girl had murdered them."

Everyone was shaken from the story. No one spoke, continuing to stare at her in terror. How could someone conjure up a story like that? Anyone with a sane mind would have called her a freak, but of course they were mutants.

Finally Hank spoke, "Alright kids," Everyone jumped from the voice, they would definitely be having nightmares tonight. Hank continued, "Let's not talk about scary stories anymore, for the sake of the younger children." They all nodded and slowly went on to talk about other topics, trying to go as far away from the previous one as possible.

Rose finally noticed something was wrong: she was beginning to tear up. She quickly reached up and wiped the single tear away and pulled her hood over her head. Resting her head on the window and sleeping, she tried to hide the fact that she had just gotten sorrowful over this. She prayed that no one saw her.

Except someone did. Kurt stared at her for a moment before finally looking back towards the front. There was a lot more to that story than what they had heard and he very well planned on asking her about it. There was no way she would hide this from him.

 **…**

After about eight hours of road, they stepped out of the bus. People began to go to their cabins and Rose talked happily to her friends, but she was called out, "Rose! Could I sveak vith you?"

She turned and saw Kurt standing off to the side. He had just finished sending the last of the boys to the cabins and was watching the girls go off. Rose nodded and asked if Clare could take her things to their cabins, which she gladly agreed to. Rose walked over towards Kurt and he said calmly, "Take a valk vith me, if you vould."

She nodded and walked with Kurt through a nice short nature walk. They walked through and Rose stayed silent, a bit afraid of why they were there. Finally Kurt said something, which caused Rose's heart to drop. "Rose, vat story… it vas… intevesting. But vere is more to it. Am I correct?"

Rose halted in her steps, causing Kurt to take a few more steps and then halt as well. He turned around and looked at her with his inhuman yellow eyes. She stayed silent for a few moments before saying, "It… It's a real story." He stayed silent for a moment longer, trying to make her drag out what he wanted to hear. So she continued, "I had heard it from a… a friend."

He frowned and moved to be next to her, saying calmly, "Vose, I don't need telepavy to know vat is a lie. Now vell me the truv."

Rose broke into tears, yet her voice refused to waver. "It's about me."

Silence fell upon the pair. Rose let the tears fall from her eyes and she fell to the ground as she explained further, "I didn't want to do it… It forced me… I… I'm a monster and no one loves me. My own true parents abandoned me and those… Those excuses for parents hated me! I was sent to a freaking children's hospital!"

"You said vildren's asvylum..." Kurt interrupted her. Rose broke down into more tears.

She choked out, "It was a twist on the story. Everything is the same, but I changed it. It was at a children's hospital and I killed my parents, not the nanny. The neighbors found me and the real reason I killed them was because they refused to have a sickened daughter, because it would bring shame to their own name. They didn't even care for my own. They were going to send me away and I refused… and… and…" She hiccupped, "It came out! I didn't have control! It took over!"

She cried sorrowfully and started to pound the ground, tears now freely roaming her face. She choked out, "I… I… * _hic_ * I wanted to kill myself. So… so much, but the… the mutant hunters found me first… they took me away to a prison camp for mutants. The first place where I managed to feel like I fit in. * _hic_ * Yet again, _It_ would stay in my mind and hide there, until the right time came. * _hic_ * That was a few years later and I actually managed to control _It_ for a while. Never listening to _It_ beckon, but _It_ only tried to conjure up more hate to use against me. * _hic_ * I was a murderer, wanted by nobody."

She cried horribly and didn't let Kurt see her face. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her and she burst into more tears, as she let Kurt hug her in comfort. She gripped his arms and choked on her tears. She heard Kurt mumbling something over her. Was he praying? She knew he was a religious man, but this was a bit strange for her taste. Yet she stayed silent this time and let him pray.

Once he finished he hugged her even tighter and whispered, "I svear to you Rose, you are vanted. Please, _please_ believe me on vat."

Rose didn't respond, but instead broke into more tears and gripped his shirt in sadness. She hated being sad; it made _It_ beckon her more for being weak. Yet now, she couldn't care less. She wanted to cry her heart out. She choked out, "Why me? * _hic_ * Why did _It_ choose _me_?"

Kurt stroked her hair and whispered, "I don't know sveet girl. Vat I svear I vill never vet it touch you. You are a beautivul girl." She clamped onto his shirt more and simply listened to his words, "How about ve get back to the cavin's? Ve can talk avout vis later vith Xavier."

She nodded weakly and they stood. Kurt teleported both of them back to the camp and Rose had managed to wipe away most of her tears. Now she looked only as if she were tired and tired she was.

The moment she entered to cabin she landed on her bunk and sighed. She wanted nothing, but sleep. She let the darkness consume her and was not interrupted once by her darkest memories.

 **…**

Kurt was about to enter his cabin, but thought to himself, " _Did you get vat Provessor?_ " He heard a single voice respond back.

" _Thank you, Kurt. We are closer to revealing the true cause of her horrors._ "

Kurt stepped into his cabin and moved towards his bed, ready to lay down for the night. He was about to drift off to sleep when a piercing screech was suddenly heard from the girl's cabin, echoing across the night.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Terror in the Cabin

 **A/N Hello everyone! Sorry for the randomness about last week! Hope ya forgive me! Anyways, I uh... Um... (Suddenly a bag covers her head and a force drags her away)**

 _ **I'm sorry but OurEeklyPple isn't available right now. I just wanted to come and say that I'm taking over for a little while she takes a... Permanent vacation... Anyways enjoy~**_

* * *

Rose shot up in her bed after hearing the scream. She was not sure who it came from, until she peered over and gasped at seeing something horrific. Clare was on the ground shaking, her eyes wide open and she was chanting some strange words. This confused Rose for a moment until she heard what Clare was saying.

"The Insanity is coming out. _It_ swears to kill. _It_ will keep nothing inside. _It_ will kill the girl by the name of Clare first. _It_ swears by this." That's when it hit Rose. _It_ was speaking through Clare. Rose jumped up and wrapped her hands around Clare's neck, causing the other girls to scream. Rose wasn't choking Clare however, she was just trying to scare _It_ out of Clare.

The moment Rose pounced on Clare, she could see it in her eyes: they were now filled with fear and terror. The once loving and kind Clare had disappeared. Now she only contained rage and fear; only darkness.

Rose felt herself shift forms automatically, causing four arms to now grip Clare's neck. Rose was angry. She hissed out, "You! This isn't suppose to happen! Stop this madness and get out of my friend!"

Rose's eyes lingered on Clare for a moment, before seeing something that would sicken any person. Clare's- no. _Its_ smile; teeth like daggers in her mouth. Clare smiled and shot up her hand and gripped Rose's forehead. Her eyes became pitch black holes while her mouth separated more, like her jaw wasn't even connected. It was terrifying.

Clare gave a blood curdling screech. It wasn't even her real scream; it was _Its_ scream. Rose gave her own inhuman scream and clawed at the claw on her face. Wait, claw? This wasn't right…

When did Clare have claws? Wait. No. No…

Rose finally managed to toss Clare aside. Yet Clare seemed… to morph? As Clare was screeching her head off some black gooey substance started taking over her body. It looked like that one substance that she had heard about from one of the prisoners who had lived in New York. There had been some sort of creature attacking the city called Venom. But this… This was terror itself.

Instead of an actual gooey substance, it looked like the shadows had taken a form. And now it was consuming Clare. It was horrible. Claws were beginning to form, along with strange ear like horns curling up around her head. It had two gigantic wings on its back and a long demon-like tail. The one part which scared Rose the most was the skeletal resemblance. A backbone appeared and creepily clawed hands and feet took form as well.

No. That wasn't the most terrifying thing. It was the fact that there were no eyes. Instead, there were two black holes, well, blacker areas. And it had nothing on the face until…

It opened up its jaws to reveal spiked teeth. It reminded Rose of her nightmares; how _It_ would look at her with _Its_ sickening screeches. She hated it. She was drawn from her thoughts when she heard Clare hiss out, no longer in her past voice, but instead a mixture of voices. Her voice was shrouded among them, "I am fear itself. The Insanity has come out…"

Clare screeched again, now standing up in the center of the cabin, making everyone else gasp in shock, except for Rose. She stepped forward and hissed out, "Get out of her! She doesn't deserve to suffer as I did."

The creature cried. No. It _laughed_. Laughed. Right in front of them all. The creature lowered its head and said through the chaotic voices, "No, I _AM_ making you suffer. You will watch as your friend slowly goes into insanity. Into me… watch it as you can do nothing."

Rose felt her anger boil inside her. She screeched her own scream and pounced onto the monster causing _It_ to scream as well. Rose shoved Clare into the wall and peered into the emotionless eyes she owned. Rose cried out, "Get out of her, you freak and fight me!"

Clare laughed again and said, "Touch me and _she_ dies with me."

Rose screeched in _Its_ face and looked into her mind. She commanded her to blackout and blackout she did as Clare fell to the ground. Rose had managed to drag the creature out of her for a moment. Clare was inside now, but unfortunately the creature still showed through her appearance. Rose frowned and reached down, ready to take it out of her, but was interrupted when something touched her neck. Everything inside of her was drained away. All energy, all power. She blacked out with Clare.

 **…**

Rose found herself waking up later, her head pounding in pain, her joints aching. She came to quickly and rubbed her head, feeling that now she was back to her normal self. Wait. Normal. She shot up and screeched, "Clare!" _Vworp!_ She was pinned to the bed by the blue elf and struggled against him. She cried, "No! No! I have to take it out of her! She's in trouble!"

Kurt yelled, "Hank, help me!"

Hank ran over and easily pinned Rose down, while she continued to cry out. Hank said calmly, "It's okay, it's okay. Calm down."

Rose shook her head madly and said, "No! You don't get it! _It's_ killing her!"

Hank looked at her for a moment before asking, "Pardon?"

Rose shot back, " _It's_ inside of her! _It's_ trying to kill her by getting to me! I have to get _It_ out of her!"

Kurt said, "Who, Rose, who?"

Rose wanted to cry right then and there. She choked out, "Me, I'm in her. I didn't want to. It's… it's like Anity."

Hank scoffed out, as if it were a joke, "What? No, Anity isn't-"

"IT IS!" Rose screeched, drawing everyone's attention. She choked out, "Anity stands for insanity. It's my insanity created by my powers to balance everything out. It's like the saying you can't have too much of one without having a little bit of the other. In this case it's the insanity. Living fear, in its most purest form: me."

Hank went silent. He turned to Kurt and asked, "Is this true?" Kurt nodded and Hank turned back to Rose, obviously angered. He growled out, "Why is it in Clare?"

Rose was quick to answer, just wanting to get to Clare and heal her of her terrors, "Fear is in us all, especially dreams. It went for her because she was the most vulnerable because of her powers. She was like an open book for _It_ , so _It_ came into her. _It_ could easily have taken on anyone else, but _It's_ smart. _It_ thinks before _It_ acts."

Hank looked at her, something pulling on him to let Rose go to Clare. He backed up and let go of Rose as she shot up and off of the bunk. She looked at them and hissed out, "Where is she?"

Kurt was the first to speak this time, "In ve back."

She nodded and ran into the back room. She entered and was greeted by kids swarming around one of the beds. Clare was saying some of the most creepiest things as she revealed the nightmares of the others. The moment Rose entered however, Clare's head shot up and she cried out, in the creepy tone of hers, "There's the one that started it all! The one, the only, nightmare herself: Ose Shlen! I would applaud, but my hands are currently tied behind my back."

Rose grimaced and came up to her. She proceeded to place her hands on Clare's head and was about to take the creature out when _It_ said something, "If I go back, in will I kill her."

Rose paused. One thing about the creature was that _It_ would play mind games. Sometimes _It_ would lie and sometimes it would speak the truth, but was this the truth? She wasn't quite sure and she didn't want to take the risk.

Rose took her hand away slowly and the creature smiled, _It's_ dagger like teeth staring into Rose's soul, causing everyone in the room to shiver. There was no way they would talk about this, but Rose had to get Clare back. Rose leered her white eyes on the creature and telepathically said to _It_ and only _It_. " _What do you want in return for her life?_ "

The creature smirked and spoke to her only, apparently _It_ only wanted Rose to hear this as well. " _I want to roam your infested mind again. You blocked me out to where I could only permanently enter through your dreams. Truthfully, I enjoyed watching, Ose, and I want back in. So either you let me roam your twisted mind again or the girl dies._ "

Rose thought on it. Back to the past? To where it would roam her mind in terror again? Did she accept it? Or would she let her friend die? It was so unclear. She could suffer the greatest suffering or she could make her friend suffer minor consequences. She hated it, but she didn't want anyone else to go through the terror she had been through. It was decided.

" _Deal_."

The creature smirked and Rose placed her hand back onto Clare's forehead. Rose's gem glowed and the creature inside of Clare screeched, but not in pain. It was amusement, horrible, terrible, _laughing_.

Rose could physically, emotionally, and mentally feel that _It_ was leaving Clare and entering her mind. Truthfully, it had felt empty to Rose without _It_ roaming her mind. She had felt empty inside, incomplete. Rather than being happy she had felt… unfinished. She should have been cheering when she got rid of the monster within her thoughts, but _It_ stayed in hers, where _It_ felt safer and more deadly.

The shadows slowly faded away from Clare's form, leaving nothing but her previous self with wide petrified eyes and torn ragged clothing. It was slow going as the shadows were leaving her, since they were approaching Rose at the same time. They crawled up her arm, right towards her head and entered the tiny gem, which slowly darkened and became gloomy. It felt like pain, suffering, you name it. And Rose bore it.

She was surprised that no one had stopped her yet, but she guessed it was because of the scare she had given them earlier. Finally she felt all of the shadowy creature leave Clare and with one final phrase from the creature, she knew it was over. " _I'm back Ose…_ "

Rose released her firm grip from Clare's forehead and let Clare fall limp to the ground, making Clare gasp for air like a fish. Had the creature been suffocating her? No, it was just Clare coming back to reality. People stormed over to Clare and helped her to her feet, trying to calm her and make her feel more relaxed.

Whatever she had seen inside of _Its_ mind, was enough to scar her. Rose wasn't going to lie; it could be freaking scary in there. Surely, _It_ had shown Clare her worst memories, her scariest thoughts, or even worse, which Rose feared: her own past. Those moments that she hated to go back to. If _It_ had shown her that…

"Rose? Rose are you okay?" Rose's white eyes peered around and were met by Hank. She wasn't focused, she kept coming in and out of reality, everything was still in pain. She guessed it was a "Welcome Home" present to the demon inside her. Rose looked around. Everyone's frantic faces were now focused to hers. She felt light headed, like something had just stabbed her in the head.

Rose looked to the ground. It looked strangely inviting now and she wasn't one to deny an offer.

She passed out and the last thing she heard was the cries from Kurt and Hank.

 **…**

Rose was greeted with a hazy start as she was introduced to the familiar surroundings. One thing which confused her was the familiar black silhouette because it looked a bit more… questionable: the creature was sitting down at a table with floating checker pieces atop it. Rose tilted her head and stared at the creature.

The minute _It_ noticed Rose, _It_ had that sickening smirk come to _Its_ face. Rose grimaced and looked around frantically. Realizing that she wouldn't get a rhetorical answer from the creature she questioned _It_ herself, "Why am I here?"

The creature managed to bellow a low grumble, which revealed itself to be a laugh. Rose frowned, but eventually got her answer, " _A welcoming party! For_ me _! So come here! I haven't played a game with you in a long time. Don't you remember that? When we were younger and we used to-_ "

Rose interrupted _It_ , "Really, why am I here?"

The monster sat there for a moment and then snapped its fingers, creating a black silhouette of a chair to appear on the other side of the darkened table. _It_ gestured to the chair and said sinisterly, " _I wanted to talk. A_ real _talk. Not any of those jokes I play on you, I wanted to be serious with you for once. So please, sit, and let us play a game._ "

Rose frowned suspiciously and approached the chair, quickly taking a seat before looking at the game questionably. She shrugged it off and decided to make the first move. She sent one of her pieces forward and the creature made its own move before speaking.

" _I was surprised you even revealed that story to them_." _It_ was… surprised? That was a new one.

"So no one can say I didn't tell them the truth. I just changed a lot of it." The creature scoffed.

" _Yeah, no kidding. You know the parts with the nanny, hospital, the-_ "

"Don't say it." Rose was quick to cut her off, not wanting to be reminded of the horrible memories. The creature paused from its move, but shrugged it off and continued onward. Rose added in, "Why was Clare even looking in my mind?"

The creature smirked and made its move as it answered, " _She was dared to peer inside by the one named Rogue_." Rose grimaced to herself as the creature added in darkly, " _I was also surprised you mentioned me as Anity and didn't change the name._ " Rose took her move. She rolled her non existent pupils and spoke her mind truthfully.

"I want them to know you exist in case you ever get out so that they know to fear you and run, rather than fight you. I was doing it for their safety, not your amusement." The creature laughed to itself. Before taking its own move.

" _That just means I have to make a new name for myself. Or should I say yourself?_ " _It_ thought on that topic for a little, while Rose made her move. The creature shrugged it off and made its move while adding in, " _You can't hide from fear, Ose, everyone has their blindside and yours is fear._ "

 _It_ was about to make _Its_ move, but it paused. _It_ thought on what _It_ had said and gave _Its_ sickening twisted grin as it said, " _Blindside… I like it. I'm your Blindside. I am Blindside._ "

Rose ignored _Its_ musings and claimed, "You may be my blindside, but you will not become anyone else's."

The creature laughed and spoke lastly, " _Oh, you may be surprised Ose. I may be here sooner than you think._ " Rose finished her move, but paused and looked up at the creature. _It_ had that sickening smirk on _Its_ face. _It_ made _Its_ move and leaned back, all four arms crossed, " _King me._ "

Rose peered down at the game they were playing. Indeed, she had to king _It's_ checker. But that wasn't what caught her attention. She had one piece left and it was surrounded on all sides. She was cornered, no way around it, she was left with no options. Rose peered up at the creature that now claimed to be Blindside. _It_ was no longer _Its_ playful self.

 _It_ had returned to what she had seen in her past nightmares.

" _I win._ "

 **…**

Rose let her eyes flicker open, her mind returning to its restful state. Well, sort of. When you have something lurking around within your mind, you get used to it, but it just feels _weird._ Yet the soft mattress at her back made her more calm.

Wait.

Soft mattress? At a camping ground? That wasn't right.

She let her eyes roam the room. It was oddly familiar. Wait? She was back at the institute, in the clinic. No wonder she had recognized it. She started to panic and tried to get off the bed, but was interrupted by a hand holding her down.

Logan?

He looked at her and said, "Kid, calm down. You're back at the school."

Rose calmed, but only slightly. She looked at him and asked worriedly, "Where is Clare? Is she okay?"

He calmed her down and said, "She's fine kid, Kurt brought you both back here. The others are still at the camp. You and Clare are fine." Rose sighed in relief, but his next comment made her face go pale, "Why didn't you tell us your story?"

Rose looked away and Logan said, "Kid, I'm not angry, just tell me the truth."

Rose played with her white hair, realizing that she was in her human form again. She whispered out an explanation, "I was afraid… I was afraid you would push me out. I'm a freak, I… I'm different. I'm not a human, I'm not a mutant. I'm a monster."

She was on the verge of tears, but Logan said, "Kid, you're not a monster, you're afraid. I get it. You just need to stay calm. It will come under control."

" _Apparently he didn't know about my presence at the camp._ " Rose heard _It_ say. Rose scolded _It_ inside her mind, but looked away from Logan, not wanting to speak with him further. As long as that thing was kept hidden, she didn't need to worry about it.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: _It_

 **A/N _Why... hello my little sheep. I don't believe we have properly introduces... I, am Blindside, or as many others know me... Anity. I wanted to say that this chapter... oh... this chapter. It must be mine and OurEeklyPple's favorite. You wanna know why? There's blood, suicide, divorce, abuse, divorce, and a lot of darkness... So I warn all of you... younglings... if you're squeamish... then I recommend you skip, unless your afraid... because I enjoy fear. Anyways... I hope you enjoy..._**

 ** _From your loving creature that lurks in your mind and gives you nightmares~_**

 ** _Enjoy~_**

* * *

It had been a week, and to say the least, it was miserable. _It_ kept speaking to her during the middle of classes, making her lose focus and argue with _It_ during the lessons. Unfortunately, Clare was really shaky around her, but she was starting to get better; starting to forget the past horrors. Unlike Rogue, who always seemed really twitchy around Rose, like she had seen something. The only times where _It_ would leave her alone is when she was tired or heading for the Danger Room.

Like today.

She was in her other form and had finally managed to get a new set of clothing for it. It was like the first dress, but this one had an extra pair of sleeves, which she was greatly appreciative of. She raised her hand, the silver aura radiating off of it, and surrounded the figure in front of her. The drone was lifted up into the air and she tossed it behind her, making it almost hit Rogue in the process. Yet luckily, Rogue stepped out of the way just in time and hit her droid as well, ending the game.

Everyone cheered and Abigail ran up to Rose and said, "Nice one! That was great!"

Rose smiled and watched as Clare came up to her. Clare said giddily, "Nice. Great job."

Rose heard footsteps approaching from behind and she turned to see who it was, but was greeted by a fist to her face. She staggered back and held her now pulsing face. She opened her eyes and saw Rogue standing in front of her, with an angered face. Both Scott and Ororo were in the tower still and didn't have time to stop Rogue from her anger.

Rogue yelled, "What were you thinking?! I was standing right there! I get that you enjoy killing people, but can you try and not kill me?" There were a few gasps from the growing crowd and Rose was deeply offended.

Rose choked out, "What are you-"

"Oh, I know." Rogue cut her off, "I know about those kids. The truth." Rose's look dropped. How did she? "I know because of last week. How else had you passed out before taking that… that thing out of Clare. I know the truth. You kill for fun. You find it amusing, you aim for death." Rose was on the brink of tears, but Rogue continued on, "I don't even know why we let you in here! You're a monster, a murderer! You should have stayed in that prison with that excuse for a family you had!"  
Rose's heart dropped. You could call her anything, but offending the only people that loved her? That wasn't on the list. Rose could feel it: Blindside was now listening, growing amused at Rose's anger. _It_ listened more to hear Rogue rant on.

"Yeah that's right!" She looked around at the crowd, "That story she told us! It was true! She is a monster! She was the killer, she was the little girl! She… she's a freak!"

" _Oh… she just said it._ "

Rose was now filled with rage and she let her arms fly out and grab Rogue by the neck, lifting her up and off of her feet. Rogue gasped and a few screams could be heard from the others. Rose's eyes darkened, emotionally and physically, and they turned black. She looked into Rogue's face, her sanity slowly dripping away.

She leered out, "D-did you just say that?"

Rogue leered down upon her and hissed out, "You know I did… _Freak._ "

That was it. Rose's sanity was gone. Nothing was left. Blindside's laughter came to Rose's mind, " _It's show time_ …" Rose's mind went dark, but someone else's came alive and _It_ was very happy.

Rose was gone, there was no more of the past girl inside of it. What was once Rose, tossed Rogue aside and into the wall, causing a loud bang and multiple gasps. While everyone stared at the now limp Rogue, they could hear the growing laughter coming from Rose, which wasn't her laughter at all. They all slowly turned and were greeted with quite a sight: Rose was shifting, no, _morphing_.

She was growing taller and taller by the second. She must have grown two or three feet, because now she was towering above them all. Her eyes disappeared, creating a faceless being and her skin turned grey. As she was in the process of growing, the gown tore and multiple scratches and holes appeared on the outside of it. Her gem had gone black with no light emitting from it. While her hair had gone black. No longer having its loveliness to it. If someone could accurately describe her with the first word that came to their mind it would be this:

Fear.

The creature looked around the room at all the faces, taking in the sight. _It_ was… a work of art. _It_ saw everyone was here now and _It_ looked around at them. Scott stepped forward, holding his hands up and saying, "Rose, Rose what happened?"

The creature peered down at them and that's when they witnessed something even more sickening: _It_ opened its mouth. _Mouth_. Rose's form didn't have a mouth. _It_ slowly unlatched its jaw, revealing what looked like the endless void within. Yet there were no teeth, no nothing. _It's_ jagged lips made it look like the smile you'd see on a jack-o-lantern. Everyone's look fell and oh… did _It cherish_ that look.

 _It_ opened its mouth and spoke to them. _It_ actually spoke, not what Rose did with telepathy. _It spoke_. "I'm sorry…. Ose isn't here… Only… Blindside." It had Rose's voice, but everyone could tell that it wasn't Rose. It was filled with hate and fear and there was no sign of Rose. This… this was something else.

 _It_ looked about again and spoke once more, with its sickening voice, "I couldn't help but hear what the girl named Ogue claimed. She said that Ose had killed the children… but no… I did. Not Ose. She was too weak, too innocent. I did it. And oh did I love it. The screams, the blood, the… the death." _It_ went silent, thinking back on those horrid memories.

Scott looked at it and said, "Rose, this isn't you. Think-"

Suddenly, long, sleek, black tentacles grew out of _It's_ back. One of them quickly wrapped around Scott's neck with enough force to cause him to choke on his own air. Most of the students screamed in terror as Blindside stared at Scott with its nonexistent eyes. _It_ leered out, "I told you. I am not Ose. She is weak, puny. I am nothing like her. I am more powerful, stronger, smarter. I am the better of her." _It_ sighed, "Of course you couldn't know that. You can't see me."

 _It_ paused for a moment, letting its words sink in. _It_ raised one of its tentacles as _It_ came closer to Scott's visor. Scott stared in terror while _It_ slowly let its gaze turn up, meeting his terrified one. _It_ hissed out, "We'll just have to change that then..."

 _It_ let the tentacle slither back and Rogue screeched, "NO!"

 _It_ peered over at her, which was enough time for Scott to grab hold of his visor and let a beam of energy fly out that nailed the creature straight in the face. _It_ screeched and let go of Scott. He fell to the floor as he gasped for breath and rubbed his now aching throat.

Meanwhile, Blindside was screeching its head off. _It_ landed on the ground and once the burning heat left, _It_ was angry. Not normal anger, but rage. _It_ slowly stood up and stared at the petrified kids. _It_ looked back to Scott as _It_ hissed out, "I may not be able to show you, but I know I can show the other children."

A dark flash of darkness consumed the room and the creature was gone. Storm helped Scott onto his feet, while some of the other children helped Rogue up. The moment the creature was gone Xavier was able to get a grab at their minds, " _Scott? Scott? What happened?_ "

Scott rubbed his head, a migraine forming the moment that the thing disappeared. Scott said, "Rose… there is something else inside her. Whatever is inside her… _It_ wasn't Rose. _It_ called itself Blindside."

Scott didn't hear anything from Xavier for a moment, but then he finally said, " _Whatever is inside of Rose must be even more powerful than her. I couldn't reach you telepathically. There was something much stronger blocking me out until something happened to It. Scott, what even happened?_ "

Scott took a moment to catch his breath before answering, "She changed after becoming angered by something Rogue said and was saying these strange things about how we couldn't see her. She grabbed me by my neck and was choking me and was, what I believe, about to gouge my eyes out. Then she said-" Scott went silent as it finally fell on him.

Xavier said worriedly, " _Scott? Scott? What did she say?_ "

Scott said in terror, "Oh God… S-she said that she would show the other children. Professor, she's going to kill the other children. We need to get them out of here immediately!"

Xavier went silent and then said, " _Where is she now?_ "

Scott looked around him, already knowing that she was nowhere in sight, but it was worth a shot. He said exasperatedly, "I-I don't know Professor, she just teleported off. She could be anywhere by now."

Xavier spoke solemnly, " _Scott, get the kids into the tower, I'll contact the others telepathically and tell them to go to the Danger Room and to the tower. Right now, it is the only safe place where they have a chance of defence. Understood?_ " Scott nodded.

A single voice pierced the awkward silence, "Where are Grace, Abigail, and Clare?"

 **…**

Clare ran into their dorm and found tiny PaperCut hiding under Rose's pillow. He had felt a strange presence from the Institute, a darkness of something wicked filling the school. Clare came to him and cradled his small body. She whispered, "It's okay, little dude. Come on."

She stopped when she saw a dark presence in the restroom. She halted and slowly, but surely stepped towards it. Her heart pulling at her to do so. Why? She had no idea. It was closed, but she could see the lights on from beneath the crack. PaperCut snuggled into her arms more, obviously feeling the strangeness that Clare felt. Clare shakily raised her hand and pushed the door. The minute it swung on its hinges, she regretted it.

Blood. Blood was everywhere. Clare's eyes widened in realization. It wasn't their bathroom, It was _hers_. She nearly dropped PaperCut as she sent her hands flying up to cover her mouth from screaming bloody murder. Luckily, little PaperCut held onto her shirt and was now nuzzling her neck for safety.

Inside was pure terror. It was that day. That day when she had tried to commit suicide. All the blood, all the screams. She remembered every sickening minute of it. She remembered stepping into the bathtub so her parents wouldn't have a huge mess to clean up after. She remembered the slicing in her arms, missing the vein and letting only a long stream of blood flow into the tub. The only problem with the scene in front of her now…

It was so bloody. She slowly stepped inside, seeing everything. She slowly looked to the tub. She gasped as a single tear flowed down her face. It was her. It was her in the tub. Dead. She was dead. Is this what would have happened if she had gone further and Xavier hadn't found her just in time? Would this have been her future?

She slowly approached the mirror. Something was written on it. It was horrible. How? Why? She looked at them closely, 'YOU SEE WHAT I SEE'. She choked back a sob and slid down the wall as her back hit it. Now seeing pure fear. She slid down right next to the corpse of herself. She was so pale, she was like death. She stared at her corpse for a moment and she saw something horrible.

It opened its eyes. Her corpse opened its eyes. Clare gasped, but before she could say a thing, her corpse stood and lifted her with her. Clare stared into her own eyes. Her tears strolling down her face, while tiny little PaperCut struggled to stay on.

Her lifeless eyes peered into Clare's soul. That's when the unthinkable happened. She spoke. Yet it wasn't Clare's voice. It was… _Its_ voice. " _Do you see what I see now?_ "

Clare's eyes widened and she was in terror. She struggled against her corpse's grip. Finally, she went limp and whimpered out, "Just get it over with…"

The corpse had a smile and not just any smile, it was _Its_ smile. That jack-o-lantern scowl. Clare hung there limp and heard what seemed to be the shifting of skin. It was disgusting, yet she couldn't care less. It was her own blindside that she couldn't hide away anymore. She wanted it gone, which meant her being gone. It's not like anyone would care.

 **…**

Grace and Abigail practically flew out of the room after seeing their roommate fly out of the dorm and into the hall. They had to go after her. They saw the bathroom door open and saw Clare in the clutches of… of _It_. _It_ had its tentacles around Clare's neck where she hung limp.

Blindside's tentacles slowly wrapped around Clare's body and were creeping towards her eyes. Abigail immediately knew what would happen and she screeched, "Clare!"

The creature's dead expression came to face the two other girls. _It_ separated its jaw like hinges and screeched that ear piercing howl. The two girls covered their ears and they could see the creature tightening its grasp on Clare. Abigail yelled again, "Clare, listen to me! Don't give way to temptation. You are better than this! We love you, you are like a sister to us. Don't give way to darkness!"

It was as if a twig had snapped in Clare's mind, for she blinked and looked into the nonexistent eyes of Blindside. Clare gasped and looked at it dead on, making Blindside smirk again. Clare managed to tug her arm out and she punched the creature square in the jaw, making _It_ tumble back and lose its grasp on Clare. Clare scrambled up and grabbed of PaperCut as she sprinted out of the bathroom.

All previous memories of death and hatred were gone. Nothing was left, but the current evil being within. She slammed the door shut and tossed a petrified PaperCut to Grace then yelled to her two friends, "Run!"

The trio sprinted out of the room. All previous thoughts leaving them as flight or fight response kicked in, choosing the obvious answer of flight. They heard the sickening screech from _It_ and a sudden _vworp!_ Well, now they had no idea where it was.

They came to a corner hallway and all at once a message echoed in their minds, " _All students report to the danger room. This is not a drill. Please go as quickly, calmly, and quietly as possible and then wait for your teacher's instructions._ "

They looked at each other and quickly sprinted off. Curse their dorm being on the other side of the school. They ran to a hallway and looked about it frantically. Abigail looked to Clare and asked, "You alright?"

Clare nodded and panted out, "I came back for PaperCut, I knew Grace would never hold me to it otherwise." She panted a laugh and expected a thanks from Grace, but heard nothing. She faced where Grace was standing and asked, "Grace?"

 **…**

Grace stood frozen. Since when had there been a hallway that was nothing but darkness? She stared down it oddly and looked around. And since when had her friends been able to disappear? She peered around worriedly and heard a voice come to her.

" _Oh Race… I'm not going to lie, you were always my favorite…_ "

Grace spun around on her heels and was met with the leering face of Blindside. She shot her hand out in a karate-like position and threatened to punch Blindside. In response, _It_ only laughed, managing to send a shiver down Grace's back.

The creature walked up to her without hesitation and said, " _I just wanted to talk with you and take a walk_."

Grace looked at it questionably, but before she could say a word, Blindside managed to grab her wrist and drag her along. Grace tugged at it, but noticed it was impossible to lose her grip with the demon. She slumped and walked with _It_ in terror.

The creature smirked and said, " _Race… Race… do you wanna know a reason why I like you?_ " Grace looked at the creature questionably, but gestured for _It_ to go on. _It_ smirked more and finished, " _You're weak._ "

Grace stopped her thoughts. Pardon? She looked at _It_ , causing _It_ only to smirk more. _It_ raised its upper right hand and snapped its fingers, making _It_ vanish into thin air and out of sight. Grace paused and looked around questionably, wondering where _It_ had disappeared off to.

Her question was answered when she heard the sound of sobbing behind her. She turned around and there sat a little girl, her face and arms covered in bruises. She stood there in the rain with the light drops of water pelting her sorrowful face.

Grace's look went pale as she watched the young girl cry. She stood there, her arms not only covered with bruises, but with the smudges of her once beautiful drawing that she had painted onto her arms. Now it drained away in the rain, along with her hopes and dreams of being liked. Everything was gone.

The people around her were like the shadowy fears that taunted her in people's dreams. She watched as one of the bullies stepped forward, pointing at the now ruined art on her arms. He laughed and a dark young voice came into her ears, " _Look at the freak! Her arts's not even that good and she's crying over it!_ "

The current Grace was on the brink of tears as she remembered those days. How she was always bullied and hated for doing the things that she loved. She watched as the past her covered her face and wiped tears away only in return to get punched in the jaw. Future Grace gasped, remembering that hit. She even had a scar to prove it. She shakily brought up her hand and lightly touched the bottom of her chin, feeling the tiny scar on her jaw line.

The tiny Grace fell to the ground in a heaping mess, crying her eyes out. Grace looked at herself, all the pain returning to her thoughts. How had she been that?

The image faded away and the creatures voice returned to her, " _Wanna know another reason on why you're weak?_ "

A new image came up, this one more recent. She remembered that night. It was horrible. It was her own nightmare.

Her younger self opened the door and gasped not seeing a single of her origami creations in sight. She scrambled to look around, unable to find a single one, until she saw one tiny little shimmer from the closet. She ran over and opened it up and there sat the tiny shaking PaperCut, holding his cut arm.

Grace picked up her tiny friend and cradled him as she looked around, unable to see any other friend. She rushed out of the room, tiny PaperCut hiding in her hair as best as he could. She rushed into the kitchen and watched in horror as her father tossed the paper creatures within the fire without a care. Grace's heart fell. Unlike most, she could hear them. She could hear their screams of terror as they were tossed into the fire and burned alive. Her father looked at her in annoyance.

His face angered as he said angrily, " _Why didn't _you throw them away? I told you to get rid of them.__ "

She watched in horror and wanted to scream. Every single creature screaming bloody murder before being tossed into the pits off the fire. Why hadn't she told them of her powers? She felt guilty for all their deaths. Each little creation's death was because of her. She was the killer, not her father. Older Grace watched in horror and began to cry over the memory. She had tried to cover her whole life in happiness to make up for it.

She had created others, but they weren't the same. PaperCut was the only one who would accept her. He was scared and she swore to never let him leave.

The image vanished again and the creature chuckled at her horror. It said with a sickening voice, " _Oh… here is my favorite. This is the real reason_."

A new image popped up. It was _that_ day. The day of all days to make her lie about herself. Her mother and father screamed at each other in the hallway, leaving her tiny twelve year old self to hide in the closet, covering her ears and trembling.

Tears stained her face and little PaperCut hid in her arms, scared of the yelling as well. It was that day. The day she would never see her father again. And it was all her fault…

" _Yes… it was your fault Race. If it weren't for you, your parents would have been happy and together_." Grace looked up in horror at the creature which now appeared in front of her. The only problem… she believed that _It_ was right. It was her fault…

She leaned down and sniffled, the creature staying surprisingly silent before speaking, " _I can make the pain go away you know…_ " Her head shot up, staring at the creature. Could it really take away her pain? She looked at _It_ and _It_ continued on, " _I can make you see what it would be like. I can show you what I see. Would you like that Race?_ "

Grace looked at _It_ for a moment. Could _It_ take away her pain? She bit her lip and looked away, she shouldn't say it.

"Please."

Yet she did.

The creature smirked and spoke wickedly, " _Just close your eyes._ " Grace did so, " _Just let go, let me show you what to do. I will let you see. Just like Ose…_ " Wait… Rose. No. She couldn't do this. She had to continue on for Rose. To save her. She opened her eyes and saw the tentacles in front of her. She gasped and yelled.

"NO!"

 **…**

Grace gasped back into reality and grabbed her thumping heart. She tumbled to the ground and nearly sent PaperCut flying off her. Clare and Abigail came to her side, "Grace? Are you okay?

She nodded and noticed something appearing in front of them. It was… _It_. She gasped and yelled, "Run!"

The creature gave its sickening screech and the girls were practically flying down the hall. They ran by the library and Abigail yelled, "Stop! In here!"

They launched themselves inside and were able to hear the thumping of footsteps behind them. They looked around frantically and hid behind the nearest desk they saw, while Grace went to go hide behind some shelves. Abigail and Clare gestured for her to join them, but it was too late.

The creature burst inside, _Its_ tentacles roaming the area. No one could speak. Everything went silent and dark for the creature, while the girls watched it crawl inside. Clare fidgeted uncomfortably and looked to Abigail. Abigail returned her gaze towards Clare and indicated for her to calm down silently.

The creature lurked inside. _It_ needed sound to see and _It_ could only see faint images, not enough to depict out the girls. One thing _It_ hated was its poor senses compared to Rose's. _It_ wanted it so badly; it would make the hunt a lot easier.

For now, _It_ would have to use its tentacles for feeling. _It_ knew they were in there, maybe there was another way _It_ could hunt them. As the humans say, _It_ could sense fear. One thing Rose was incapable of. _It_ lurked inside and spoke calmly, " _Lare… Race… Bigail… I know you're here. Come out, come out wherever you are~_ "

The girls stayed silent and _It_ felt like cursing under its breath. _It_ managed to grab something inside of Abigail's mind at the last moment though. _It's_ smirk widened and _It_ hissed out, venom seeping within its tone, " _Bigail… know what this reminds me of? Those times at your home. The times you spent hiding silently._ "

Abigail tensed at those words. How could _It_ know about that? Abigail stayed silent and listened closer, " _Yes, you know what I speak of. What was his name… was it Odney? Yes, Odney. And his… belt._ " Abigail trembled and raised her hands to cover her ears. The creature managed to pick up that hint of fear. _It_ smirked and began to stalk towards them, not yet pinpointing them, but getting a clue.

 _It_ continued on, " _Is that why you rarely speak? You're afraid that he will return to haunt you, to beat you, to make you bleed again…_ " Abigail was on the verge of crying and Clare raised her hands and covered Abigail's mouth to keep her from sobbing. The creature's grin continued to grow and it said, " _Yes… you're weak, just like Race. You're afraid of men. You're afraid of me. It's your Blindside. You are scared of me…_ "

Clare looked at Abigail worriedly. She knew that she was abused. Was it really that bad? Had she been abused that bad to leave her with scars of men? She knew she rarely felt safe around the adult men, but this was horrible. How could anything speak of this without being afraid themselves? Yet it continued on, picking up on Abigail's fear like a star, it was so bright.

 _It_ came right near the table, the tentacles slithering downward and skimming the underneath of the wood. _It_ whispered, " _Fear, that's what drives us all to weakness. Even me, little Bigail. Even Ose…_ "

 _It_ flung the table over and in return everyone screeched. The creature raised its tentacles and was about to strike, but instead was sent flying by a man who had teleported in and kicked it away with great force. _It_ moaned a little, before peering at the demon that had sent her flying: Kurt.

He grabbed the girls and said quickly, "Quickvy grav me!"

The girls grabbed his coat and Kurt teleported away, sending the creature into a tantrum. _It_ started to scream bloody murder. The girls reappeared in the familiar office of Xavier. He watched them and said, "Girls! What were you doing in the west wing?"

Grace calmed Abigail, but Clare spoke for them, "It was my fault sir, I went to get PaperCut."

The tiny paper robot came flying out and began to soar around the ceiling in anxiety. Everyone calmed, but then PaperCut came soaring back to Grace, going to hide in her hair. He was in fear. Of what?

As if on cue, the room felt darker. The air went stiff and stagnant. Kurt looked around worriedly and they all heard a sickening voice, " _You thought you could escape me…_ " Abigail began to panic and all the girls backed towards Xavier's desk.

They watched the door, where soon a black, foggy mist began to fill the room. It faded away to reveal the eyeless creature and it's sickening smirk. _It_ stared at them for a long time, before shifting its gaze to the Professor. _It_ whispered out, " _You… it… it was you._ "

 _It_ lurked forward and leaned down to where its face was only inches away from Xavier. _It_ hissed out, " _Give me one good reason not to kill you here…_ "

"Rose?"

The darkness in the room almost halted. _It_ was like everything had gone frozen at that name. No, not the name, the voice. The monster slowly turned around and there, right in the doorway, stood the five most important people in her life.

For the first time that they had seen, its smile faded away, revealing nothing, but a sad emptiness. Thomas smiled and said, "I see you have changed, Rose."

The creature's scowl returned. _It_ practically hissed like a cat, " _No. Ose isn't here. Only Blindside. You don't exist, you're at the prison. You are dying, you are dead._ "

Tyreese stepped forward and asked, "Rose? What happened to you?"

Blindside shook its head, quickly reaching up and grabbing ahold of its horns. _It_ shook madly, as if remembering. _It_ yelled out with hate, " _No! No Ose here! Only Blindside! I-I don't have to listen to you!_ "

 _It_ looked away and was trembling. Rose was trying to gain control back. She wouldn't let _It_ win. Shaun stepped forward and placed a hand on _It's_ shoulder, trying to sooth the beast within and make it less hard for Rose to return. _It_ shot around, hands by its side in a form of rage. _It_ screeched, " _Stop it!_ "

JC frowned and stepped forward with them. He said solemnly, "Rose… please. Listen to us."

This time, to everyone else's surprise in the room, _It_ didn't screech back a word. Instead, Chance spoke, "You're not this monster. You're not your own fear."

As if something clicked in the creature's mind, _It_ slowly raised its hands and examined them, looking at the clawed fingers and scars on them. When had Rose accepted this? _It_ slowly raised its hands and felt its face. No eyes, no mouth. It was now faceless.

Tyreese said firmly, "You're better than this. You're beautiful and lovely. You are Rose."

Blindside spoke, but instead Rose's voice was heard. The voice that once held hope and joy. The voice that everyone loved, "W-who am I to you?"

Thomas stepped forward. He was silent for a moment, before raising his hand, placing it on her face, letting her look at him in fear. All signs of the creature previously inside of her were gone. She reached up and put her hand atop Thomas's and listened to his next words, "You're our little girl."

Rose began to shift again. The current grey skinned being began disappearing, while the previous white skinned girl replaced Blindside. The care and lovingness returning to her eyes, along with her height dwindling away, and her hair returning to its previous form.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and watched Thomas. How could she have accepted this? She had promised him that she would be strong. She quickly wrapped her arms around him and choked out softly, "I-I'm so sorry. I'm a monster…"

Thomas frowned and lifted her gaze up to look at him as he whispered, "You're not a monster. You were afraid, but I'm here now. I promise we will see each other. Whether it be often or in your dreams."

Rose looked at him worriedly and asked, "B-but what if _It_ comes back?"

Tyreese stepped forward and said, "Imagine us there. We'll fight _It_ off for you. Now just rest, Rose."

Rose felt an incoming darkness sweep through her. The tiredness of sleep rushed to her as she rested her head into Thomas's chest and nodded. She whispered right before blacking out, "I miss you."

 **…**

Kurt was there to grab her right before she blacked out from the fake trance that Xavier had made for her. Xavier sighed tiredly; that had taken all of the energy out of him. The girls looked to him and Grace asked, "What did you do to her?"

Xavier looked to them tiredly, right after nodding to Kurt. He spoke with a hint of tiredness in his voice, "I put an illusion in her mind. I couldn't control _It_ , so I tried giving her something she wanted. I guess it worked."

Abigail looked at him oddly and asked, "What was that?"

Xavier paused. Who were they really to her? Were they just people, or did they mean the world to her? He looked to them and gave an answer, "I gave her the only thing she has left to live for."

 **…**

The two men sat outside the institute, their trackers beeping as they picked up a massive increase in energy from inside the building. They looked from it to each other, gave a nod and then leaned into their radios. One of the men whispered, "The missing Mutant has been located."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **(YourWeeklyApple pushes Anity off stage with a broom)**

 **Get out of here! And stick with the story you dirty... thing! Go bother Rose or something! Sorry guys, about... that. Anyways... I was using this ending section to answer some questions yall asked in the reviews, comments? I don't know, the something. Anyways, hope I answered yalls stuff.**

 **Hope Barlett: Indeed, PaperCut can be R2-D2 at times... he is quite adorable.**

 **Cookie Smith: I have never actually read a Wrinkle in Time... but I do know what you speak of when referring to _It_ , but that is not what I'm trying to get out, as you can tell by this chapter...**

 **Quinn Carona: Her powers are technically, minor telekinesis and teleportation, and then major telepathy. And Anity is kinda... well, you'll find out next chapter. But she is not.. possessed. I assure you of this. And I'm happy I inspired you to write! But I... uh... have no idea what the heck a Shin-Daled is...**

 **Well, I hope I helped some of yalls! Please, if you have questions or just want me to comment on something, leave it here and I'll try and answer you!**

 **YourWeeklyApple out!**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Living Fear

 **A/N Alright, going to keep this short and sweet, yall are awesome.**

 **Owned by Marvel and Stan Lee**

 **McDragonRider edited this, like a boss**

 **Potato**

* * *

Scott walked down the metal corridor of the basement beneath the mansion. He carried a tray of food with him, careful to not let the fruits and vegetables fall off the it. After a moment, he arrived at a door. He typed the passcode into a keypad to the right of the door and it swooshed open. He stepped into a dark room; the only light came from the illuminated hallway behind him.

The moment he stepped inside, the door slid closed behind him. He approached the lone table, which leaned against a wall with a window. It was heavily tinted, but it could obviously be seen as the type that you can see one way, but the person on the other side can't see the other.

Scott placed the tray of food on the table. He stepped towards the door and was about to reach for the handle, but was interrupted by a voice in his mind, " _What are you doing here?_ "

Scott paused at the door, his hand barely gracing over the handle, feeling the cold metal near his fingers. He stared at it, trying to decide whether or not to open the door. He placed his hand on the handle and was about to let the door come flying open, yet he was interrupted by the voice again, " _Please… just leave me alone._ "

Scott frowned, yet he didn't open the cell door. He didn't like this. He knew Rose didn't mean it, but after… the incident, he didn't want to talk to her, especially after he had looked into _It's_ face. He saw _her_ , not Rose. _Her._ It haunted him; every moment of it. Yet he had to. He had promised to at least give Rose food. He said calmly, "Rose, please, work with me. I'm just here to give you food. Then I'll leave if that makes you feel better."

Rose stayed silent and Scott silently opened the door, turning on the lights while he was at it. What he saw inside startled him. It was like the room: blood on the walls and writing everywhere. He stared in horror and looked to the chair, where the murderer sat. _It_.

 _It_ gave him that toothy grin, making a shudder run down his back. Only a single word was said to make him go into a fit of chills, " _Scott?_ "

Scott blinked and the bloody mess around him disappeared. There at the table, was just Rose, looking at him with fear and worry. She asked again, "Scott?" He stopped and stared at her for a long moment. She sighed and said, "You saw the remanence… When the creature goes back into my brain, _It_ leaves an aura of fear around me. _It_ doesn't really leave until a few days after the incident. I'm sorry, you probably saw… something…"

Scott's look faded. Did the girl have a bipolar disorder or was she just insane? Maybe it was none of them. She was just lost and confused. He sighed and brought the tray of food in, placing it in front of Rose and giving a smile before soon leaving. "Scott, who is Jean?"

Scott felt his hairs stand on end. he was frozen. How did she-

"W-when the creature had you. I-it managed to catch a glimpse of someone named Jean Grey. She meant a lot to you, didn't she?"

Scott didn't dare answer her questioning and instead left without another word. Rose looked down in sorrow towards her food, not daring to touch it. She slammed it aside, letting the milk and cereal go flying. She crossed her arms and let her head rest on the table, tears flooding her eyes. Why was she a victim of this insanity?

 **…**

Rose sat silently in the room, trying to clear her thoughts of the creature. The only lucky thing about changing back was that the insanity was tired and didn't talk to her for about a week or so. But it still bothered her. Now all of the institute was scared of her; treating her like the freak she was.

" _That's not true Rose_." Rose's head shot up and there inside the room, how she didn't hear them come in was beyond her, was Xavier and Logan. She slowly leaned all the way up and stared at them doubtfully. She turned her head to look away from them.

Logan pushed Xavier forward and set him in front of Rose. Logan pulled out a chair and placed it next to Xavier, quickly sitting down and crossing his arms to rest on the table. He glanced over in the process and saw the spilled milk. He sighed and said, "I see you didn't want your cereal."

She didn't say a word to him, but instead zoned out on the corner, not daring to make eye contact. Xavier sighed and asked, "Would you like to speak with us now?"

She still refused to say a word. Logan frowned and said, "Kid, please, look at us at least." She slowly turned her head. Her red eyes lighting with fear. He sighed and said calmly, "Kid, don't be scared, we just wanna know what that… thing was."

She looked away again, not wanting to speak of _It_. Xavier sighed and said, "Rose I don't want to do this with force, I just want you to be truthful with us."

Rose raised her hand to bite the side of her finger, fear starting to crawl into her heart. She took in a deep breath and then breathed it back out as she turned to face them. Her eyes started to have a glistening look come over them. She tried her hardest to not let her voice waver as she started to speak, but she had to pause a few times, "That thing is something you never want to speak of again… _It's_ a nightmare within a dream."

Xavier frowned and spoke calmly, "Rose, that's not what I want to hear. You know what I want to hear."

Rose gripped the table, her head pounding in rage. She rubbed her temples and looked at Xavier angrily as she hissed out, "I'm telling you. You don't need to know about _It_."

Xavier tilted his head. He had already tried getting into her mind, but she had a strong barrier up. He asked calmly, "Why do you call this thing _It_ and not he or she?"

As if on cue Rose's eyes lit with rage. She shot up, her eyes burning into Xavier's and she hissed out, "Fear has no form. _It_ is only a thing of the mind; a thing that crawls inside of your head, eating and tearing at your sanity. _It_ aims to do nothing, but take over. You know the old saying there is nothing to fear, but fear itself? Well it's not a quote! It is fear. _I_ am the thing you fear. That thing is the thing that lurks in your mind at night, causing your nightmares and terrors to come over-"

"Rose-"

"No, Professor! Don't stop me! You have fears too! You're afraid! You're afraid of losing who you love! Like Jean-" Every person went silent. Rose's once rage-filled eyes dilated, like she hadn't been saying a single thing. It was that thing inside her head talking; it wasn't her. She paused and began to back away, knocking the chair down in the process.

She hit her back against the wall and pleaded, "P-please get away from me…" Rose's body began to shake and she slowly leaned against the wall, letting her body slide down into a sitting position. She placed her hands on the side of her head and let the tears flow. She pleaded, "P-please… just kill me… end my misery…"

Logan was the first to stand and he came to her and grabbed her arm pulling her back up. She shook and pleaded, "P-please leave me alone…" He pulled her up and she screeched, "Just leave me alone!"

She slammed Logan against the wall, her eyes dilating to become nothing but darkness. She looked at him deeply and she stared at him in confusion, right up until she felt something hit her neck. She went limp and Logan caught her at the last moment. Xavier looked at him and Logan gave him the same look. He placed her on the metal berth, and indicated for Xavier to wheel over.

He rolled his chair over and placed his palms on both sides of her head, quickly closing his eyes and going within her mind. What he found was utterly disturbing: there was something blocking him out of her mind. Something shrouding it, keeping Rose from having freedom. Something fearful. That's when _It_ asked, " _Now who are you?_ "

Xavier shot out of her mind; it was like _It_ knew he was there. Xavier knew exactly what _It_ was, but it was hard to believe. He was so startled, he wheeled back in shock. Logan looked at him worriedly and asked, "Charles, what did you see?"

Xavier wheeled forward again and stroked her head, saying softly, "I am so, so, sorry, Rose." Logan looked at him again and was about to ask his question again, but Xavier answered it, "It's almost… real."

Logan looked at him and asked, "What?"

Xavier looked back at him, his eyes full of fear for the girl. He looked back at her and went into the long explanation of what was keeping her captive. "Remember when she came back after the camp and Kurt told us about the story dealing with her past?" Logan nodded and Xavier tried to keep himself calm, "It was real. It was all real. We knew that, but… _It_ is real."

Logan looked at him oddly and gestured for him to continue. "That thing she called Anity, saying it was an imaginary friend; _It_ was her imaginary friend." Logan looked at him oddly and Xavier continued, "She had mentioned that she never played with the other children and her parents said they would send her away right after she had killed her dog, but when I went into her mind I saw something more."

Logan tilted his head. "She was a foster child. She didn't have a real family, so she was always being moved around, causing her to have fear. She saw fear as her only friend, her only comfort. So she created Anity from insanity, that way she could have something to talk to. The only thing which bothers me… is…" Xavier struggled to get the words out of his mouth. Logan looked at him and waited patiently for him to continue.

"Anity is real." Logan looked at him with confusion. Xavier managed to continue on, "Her powers came in at an early age, at least seven, which is the most powerful time for a mutant." Logan nodded, remembering. "Rose's powers were at their most powerful point, especially her telepathy. Anity at this point was her imaginary friend as normal. But… she believed in Anity so much. She literally believed that Anity was a real, breathing, functioning human. She believed it so much." Logan nodded again.

"At this point," Xavier explained, "she didn't know how to read other's minds, even with her powers being at their most powerful point. So they needed an output, it needed to be hearing _something_ , anything! Her instincts took over and thought of the nearest human, which was Fear." Logan's look went into shock, "Her powers made that fear, into a real mind."

Logan was in shock, but he managed to stutter out, "T-that's impossible. You can't create a real functioning human mind." Xavier nodded in thought.

"Exactly." He started, "That's the thing though: she did. Whatever that thing is that's inside her mind, it's real. But the reasoning behind why _It_ scares her, startles me." He paused, " _It_ wants her dead."

Logan blinked in shock. Her own mind wants to kill her? That's impossible. "Exactly." Xavier interrupted Logan from his thoughts. He said, "But I know it's a real creature. Because I heard _two_ heartbeats." Logan blinked in shock again. "She has a real human trapped in her mind, whose only personality is corrupted and evil. She can't help but be afraid of herself; she has that thing crawling around inside her head." Logan was shocked to hear this from the professor. He never used this type of language, even though it wasn't cursing, it was horrible to even use words to describe such horrors.

Xavier paused and continued to stroke Rose's hair. Logan folded his arms and asked, "Then why did she calm so drastically when she saw her 'family'?"

Xavier looked at her, not having an exact reason, but a pretty close guess. He answered, "I think her main fear was rejection, being different. Afterall, she was a foster kid. She never felt like she was one and she was a freak, so her fear was what she imagined she looked like in other's eyes, but the cellmates were the only ones who she could compare to other than Anity.

"The fear had nothing to fight against when _It_ saw her family; _It_ actually saw fear right back. _It_ was fooled into thinking it was fear, but to Rose she saw family and herself being seen like the form she normally takes. Something that wasn't scary, but instead beautiful and wanted." He smiled and stroked Rose's hair back one more time, before slowly his smile turned into a frown, "But her being here…" He struggled with the words again, "It's made that fear even more tempting."

Logan looked at him oddly, questions rushing through his mind. He asked clearly, while going to lean against the wall. "Why?"

Xavier's frown grew as he answered, "Because she was pushed away from the place where she thought she was loved. The thing about that demon inside her head… _It_ was slowly going away. _It_ was there, but growing less powerful because of the love that Rose was receiving and so the fear of leaving was disappearing."

Logan nodded and looked at the girl. He stroked her hair back once and then looked at Xavier. "Is there any way to help her?"

Xavier frowned and shook his head sadly. "One thing about fear is that you can't hide it; it's always there. The only way to get rid of fear is by getting over it, so we need to help her. We need to show her that we can treat her like a family, even if we are afraid of her." Logan nodded and looked back down at her. He was curious. What had happened to her in the past at that prison to make her love the people who went against the law? However that was, he would learn to do the same.

He sat down and stroked her head, making her smile. He then stood and said calmly, "You go. I can watch over her."

Xavier smiled and wheeled away, leaving a very shaken girl and Canadian in the room. Logan pulled up the chair and sat next to her. He stroked her hair back and while doing so noticed the small marking on her neck again. He looked at it oddly and pulled her hair back gently, revealing the odd circular shaped scar on the back of her neck. He gently graced his fingers over the scar, but immediately stopped.

Rose shot up and gripped his hand, "Don't." She spoke softly. Logan looked at her, still a bit shaken by the explanation that Charles gave him.

He raised a brow and asked, "Am I talking to Rose or Anity?" Rose's eyes widened in fear and she let go of his hand and backed up more on the table. She took a deep breath.

"How do you know about that?"

Logan frowned. "Xavier told me, kid. Why are you hiding things like this from us?" Rose shifted uncomfortably. She pulled her knees up and hugged them, putting her chin atop them. She looked at him hesitantly.

"Because I don't want to be pushed away. I'm a freak and I know it." Logan frowned and looked at her leaning over and placing his elbows on his knees. What had this girl gone through?

"No you're not." He started, "You're confused; lost maybe. You need guidance." Rose looked away shyly, trying to get out of the conversation. Logan frowned and said, "Kid, look at me," She slowly looked back at him. "Whether you like it or not, I'm going to guide you through this, so don't even try to get out of it."

Rose looked back at him, a bit of anger in her eyes. She hissed, "Why do you even care?"

Logan shrugged and answered, "Maybe because I was in your shoes a while back." Rose raised a brow.

" _You_ killed innocent children in a hospital?" Logan grimaced at the thought, he shook his head.

"No. I suppose I didn't." Rose was about to look away, but Logan finished, "But I never knew my family." Rose looked back at him in surprise. He knew on how she was a foster child? He looked down and responded, "I don't remember my family. I have terrible amnesia. I never knew who loved me, who raised me. I was alone." Rose looked down sadly.

She replied, "Yeah… I guess you're right there." Logan nodded. He looked down and was startled when he heard Rose speak, "Were you scared because I mentioned Jean?"

Logan looked up, a bit saddened by the thought. He looked back down, but nodded. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, "She… she was a dear friend to me. She died not that long ago. I'm surprised that Scott is even functioning without her. But… yes. I was scared. I was scared of what you would say afterwards, but I could tell you gained control. You came back to reality. You knew it was wrong."

Rose looked up in surprise. Was he glad she had stopped? Then he commented, "And that is what told me that you _can_ fight that thing in your head. You just need more control. You need to know. Which _I_ can help you with, but only if you trust me in letting me guide you."

Rose went silent. She had been afraid that, _that_ , word would come up: trust. She looked down and sighed. Would she trust them? Take the chance of being pushed away again? She looked up and said very softly, "Fine."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: The Encounter

 **A/N Hola! Sorry about this being a little late, I meant to upload it yesterday but I got caught up in moving mulch from my driveway to the backyard... First world problems ya know? Anyways I couldn't help but put a tiny reference in there. If ya spot it please say so in the comments! (Well feel free to, it is a free country after all) Anyway, enjoy!**

 **What do I own? Gimme a N, gimme an O, gimme a T, gimme a H, gimme an I, gimme a N, and gimme a G! What does that spell? NOTHING!**

 **I own my characters tho. Blegh.**

 **McDragonRider edited this. Like a boss.**

* * *

It had been about a week and finally the 'aura' had vanished, leaving only Rose. _It_ still roamed her brain, but luckily Xavier had managed to block it out, most of the time.

He had put up some kind of mind barrier, but since Rose was so hesitant to trust, _It_ would come back near the end of each day. Usually by yelling, "I'm back!" right in her mind, startling her at whatever she was doing. Unfortunately, you can't hide fear. She had tried, but it always managed to come crawling back.

Rose was frightened and she felt so alone. She was scared that no one would like her, afterall she had been pushed out for a while. She had been trapped in that bleak room for a week. Being kept away from society is hard enough, but being away from people who hated her and then suddenly coming back scared her.

That day, she was waiting in her cell for Logan to come down and bring her back. Eventually he emerged from the open door and gestured for her to follow him. She shakily stood and followed the man out of the room and into the hallway. She silently followed him up the stairs onto the first floor and then they proceeded to go to the kitchen.

Once they entered, all eyes came to them. Some seemed surprised, but most looked at Rose in fear. She looked away nervously and went to the fridge and got out a protein bar. She didn't even bother to make eye contact with a single student. She tried her hardest to block out the fear, but it didn't even work in the slightest.

" _Why if it isn't my dear friend miss nobody!_ " She grimaced at the voice and went to Logan immediately. She looked at him and he immediately knew the issue. The voice said annoyedly, " _Are you kidding me? I just got back! Can I at least torture you for a little? It's bad enough they know about me being real, but you doing this is miserable._ "

He sighed and gestured for her to follow. Rose nodded and followed Logan out of the room and into the Professor's office. "This early?" He sighed.

They nodded sadly and Rose came to sit next to him while the Professor placed his hands on the sides of her head. He searched through her mind, quickly putting up the barriers, and the last thing he heard from it was, " _Why… you son of a-_ " Thank goodness he had put up the barriers quickly.

He removed his hands and Rose looked at him shyly. She made an apologetic look and was about to comment on it, when she heard a knock, followed by the call of Scott saying, "I got it!"

They stayed silent for a moment and then something in Rose's heart went cold. Scott shouldn't have answered the door. She went sprinting out of the room, towards the entrance, and quickly went to hide behind a pillar. She slowly peered around and her nerves went cold and still. It was _them_.

The men who had captured her.

She hid behind the pillar again, before they could see her. Her heart beat increased as she began to have a panic attack. She lowered herself to the ground and closed her eyes. She thought of happy thoughts, trying not to let them into her mind. She shook and trembled, but managed to catch some of their conversation.

"What may I do for you two?" Scott asked.

"We are from the government and have had reports of strange activity coming from this institute. May we have a look around?" She recognized that voice. It was Harold. He was one of the main trackers at the prison. He was the one who had brought her there. She was scared that Scott would say yes because she knew that they would recognize her immediately. She bit her lip and leaned into the pillar.

"I'm sorry, but I would need the Professor's approval." The sound of a wheelchair rolling through the hall was heard. Rose peered up and there came Logan and Xavier. Xavier smiled down at her, but continued to the door. When he arrived, Scott said, "Speak of the devil. Look who it is."

Xavier smiled and said, "Hello, and might I ask who are you?"

"We were sent from the government concerning local complaints. We would like to do a sweep through of your institute concerning strange activity." That was Kevin, the lead prison guard. He was always so rude to the prisoners… they were about to walk off and inspect the area, but Xavier made them pause. They glanced at him and waited patiently for an explanation for their halt.

Xavier said calmly, "What type of strange activity?"

The two men stared at him, "Mutants." Xavier's look never faltered, but Rose knew better. She could feel his nerves tense and his thoughts go still. Then he nodded and wheeled out of the way, letting the two men walk by.

As soon as they moved, a voice rang through every person's head in the institute, " _Attention students and teachers. There are government agents walking around in the school today. They are looking for mutants, so keep your powers hidden when you see the men in black suits. Any of those who cannot hide their abilities due to appearance, please report to the lower levels and wait there until further instruction._ "

When Xavier finished speaking, Rose felt many vibrations in the floor from the children rushing to the underneaths, along with a familiar _vworp_ -ing sound. She paused as the two men walked right by her. She thanked God that they hadn't seen her. The moment they were out of view, Rose rushed to Xavier, fear covering her face. She pleaded, "Please, please, you have to hide me!"

Logan grabbed her shoulders and said calmly, "Kid, there's nothing to worry about. Those guys don't even know you exist. Just hide your powers."

"They do know me!" She shot back. She glanced behind her, to where they had disappeared off to. She looked back and said, "T-they're from the prison. That man, Harold, he brought me there and the other one is the lead prison guard! They were the only ones that could properly find me. They must know that I'm here."

Xavier paused. She was right and he knew it. He looked at Logan and said quietly, "Logan, take her out of the school until I contact you. She needs to be hidden away."

Logan was surprised by the comment, but nodded. He gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her off. She followed in suit and glanced down every corridor, every hallway. She was petrified. She griped Logan's hand harder. He glanced at her as he recognized something: she was trusting him.

She was always so scared and frightened of things, but now… she was putting her trust in him. For once she was caring, for once she was putting the smallest amount of trust into someone else. And he knew it. In the past when she had seemed to trust someone, she wasn't. She was always stiff and stressed. The only time when she was beginning to relax was when she was in her other form, where no one judged her and they accepted her for who she was. The minute Rogue had yelled at her though, she had let her walls come back up and let the demon inside her take over again.

Yet now, he could tell that even in her natural form, she was trusting that he would take her to a safe place. He smiled inwardly as he rushed into the garage. A Harley Davidson was parked inside and he moved to sit on it. Rose followed and shoved her head into his back for protection, as she was still terribly frightened. She wrapped her arms around him and hearing the motor rev up, they shot out of the building.

She pressed her face further into his jacket as they drove off. Rose refused to look back and she was not looking forward to the future.

 **…**

Eventually, they made it to the small town. Logan was trying to focus on the road, while Rose was trying her hardest to ignore the beckoning voice in her head. They stopped outside of a building and jumped off of the motorcycle. Logan seemed to know where he was going, while Rose was silent and stuck next to him.

Logan stepped towards the old building, some sort of diner from what Rose could see. The 'Salt and Pepper' Diner… should prove to be interesting. They silently entered went to a booth, Rose sat on one side while Logan sat on the other. The restaurant was practically empty.

Rose sat there for a moment, looking intensely at Logan as he lit a cigar. He glanced up at her once he had finished and she looked right back, her eyes shining with fear. He sighed as he remembered something. He looked at her jacket and then gestured towards her eyes. She quickly put the pieces together and put up her hood, hiding her inhuman red eyes.

Finally, a woman came over and asked, "Whatcha two lovebirds want?"

Both of their eyes widened and they looked at the waitress in disgust. They both began protesting at the same time; Logan hastily trying to explain and Rose exclaiming how that was gross.

The waitress took a step back in shock and blinked. She smiled awkwardly and said, "Alright, alright… just… what do you want?"

Rose stayed silent and slowly leaned back into the seat, while Logan looked at the waitress. He gave the menu a quick sweep over and said, "I'll have a beer and she'll have some hot chocolate."

Rose looked at him skeptically. Did he actually ask for a beer? She wondered if he remembered that he was going to be driving back to the institute… with a _child_. The waitress didn't even think twice about it and she left without another word. While Rose looked at him questioningly. Logan peered up at her, immediately knowing what she was thinking. He sighed and responded, "Don't worry kid. My healing ability doesn't allow me to get drunk."

Rose gave a short sigh of relief and looked away out the window. After a few minutes of letting her gaze wander, Logan spoke, "So tell me kid, what's your favorite color?"

Rose's gaze shot back over to him and she raised a brow. Had he actually asked her what her favorite color was? She leaned back more and folded her arms, looking at him. "Why?"

Logan sighed. Of course even the most simple of questions would be scrutinized. Logan rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Want the truth?" She nodded. "Well, Xavier said it's a good bonding activity. You know, to ask basic questions."

She rolled her eyes and looked away, planning to continue her examination of the picture frames. Logan sighed and looked down at the table. Of course she wouldn't cooperate well… He continued to look down for a little longer, assuming that there was no way that she would even talk to him now.

"It's gold…"

He looked up in surprise. Maybe it wouldn't be as hard as he thought. He sighed as an idea came to him, "Okay kid… how about we play a game?"

She peered over at him. Her brow raised. She asked, "A game? Seriously?" Logan shrugged. She rolled her eyes, knowing that there was no way to get out of this one.

Logan started off again, "How about we play five questions?"

Her brow was raised further and she replied in a monotone, "Don't you mean twenty questions?"

"Well, I'm too tired to do twenty questions, so let's just do five. How about you start off?" She glared at him, thinking it was just a trick, but she decided to play along.

"Fine." She adjusted herself in her seat and asked, "How did you find the institute?"

Logan smiled and leaned back. He crossed his arms again and answered, "After a run in with an old friend, Rogue and I got caught up in a fight. Storm and Cyclops came to bail us out. (I would have been fine) They rushed us to the institute and I met Charles there." Rose nodded. It was certainly interesting. He then asked his question, "How did _you_ end up finding out about the institute?"

Rose shifted uncomfortably in her seat. It was either from the question being asked or the way she was seated. Logan guessed it was the first reason. She said calmly, but softly all the while, "Some of the new mutants who would arrive at the prison would mention that they had brought their children to the institute before the hunters could find them. So when my family had the chance, they got me out and sent me to the institute, thinking it was the only safe place for me…" She took a moment to pause. She whispered to herself, "I still hope they are right." She came out of her thoughts and said, "Now, my turn, what's your powers?"

Logan smirked and said, "Well, I have healing powers, increased senses, and bone claws. My skeleton is covered with adamantium though, which makes it impossible to break them." Rose smiled and he smiled back. Maybe he was getting to her. He then continued on, "So… how did those men catch you?"

She shifted uncomfortably again. This time lowering her gaze to the floor. trying to avoid eye contact with Logan. She responded in a whisper, "I… I was roaming in the forest for a while. Anity was beginning to grow in power, trying to get to me more and more. Apparently, my powers emit a silvery aura when _It's_ out, so the hunter saw it, came, and found me. They put me under for a whole week, while they tried to get… _It_ to not come out. I had this terrible ache when I woke up, but I… I…" She trailed off, working up the courage to speak. She whimpered out, "In those few days… I… I killed a man."

Her gaze went to the floor again, refusing to look at Logan. If she had been looking, she would have been surprised by his emotions. He was looking at her with pity and care, not disgust like she thought. She spoke again, trying to change the subject, "So… who's Jean Grey?"

Logan went silent. He stared at her for a moment as he tried to gain his own strength for an explanation. He said, "She… she was a dear friend, who didn't deserve to die so young. She was a great person." Rose frowned; much of an explanation, but enough for the time being. He then asked, "What's the scar on your neck?"

By default she rubbed the back of her neck. Her fingers gracing across the scar as she felt the pain, but comfort it had caused her. She said softly again, "I… I had an episode at the prison, but they managed to get me to pass out again. Then they created this neck brace for me that connected to my nervous system. Somehow, it managed to block out every single mutation, but…" She trailed off again. "But when I took it off so I could leave the prison… _It_ was at _Its_ most powerful form. All the rage built up throughout the years had managed to get to me. It was hard. I don't know how I would have managed to get out of there if it weren't for Thomas…" She looked down with sorrow, a couple of tears managing to sting her eyes. She wiped them away and asked, "Why do you care?"

Logan went silent for a moment, staring into her own crimson eyes. He shrugged and watched as the waitress came and set the drinks in front of them. He drank some of his and then responded, "Well, like I said before. I see me in you. I want to give you a chance,!kid. Whether you like it or not." She sighed and looked away, but his last question got to her, "How many foster homes have you gone through?"

Rose's fingers went stiff. She took a shaky breath and removed the cocoa from her lips. She looked into the mug for a moment and mumbled something under her breath. Logan lifted a brow, indicating for her to continue. She looked into her cocoa intensely and said, "Eleven."

His eyes widened in shock. She had been through _eleven_ households? And not even one cared about her for a moment? Now he saw why she had little to no trust in people other than the prisoners. They were the only ones that had loved her for a long time. Five years, but they did care and they didn't want to let her go. He shook the thought off as she spoke, "Will you leave me?"

He looked at her with utter shock as he retorted, "What?" She looked away, thinking he would grow angry. She feared _It_ , but she wouldn't let _It_ come back. However, all thoughts of fear were driven away when he said, "I will never abandon you." She looked at him with shock and he continued, "I swear. I will never leave you. I promise."

She smiled lightly. A real general smile. Finally, a voice rang through their minds, " _You can come back now. They have gone._ "

 **...**

A dark figure was thrown into the cell and four others rushed to his side. They looked at the newly done wounds on his back while the soldier on the other side of the bars slammed the door shut. A new man came out in a dark cloak, with his face covered by a cloth and goggles. He stared into the cell for a moment, watching as the others helped their friend.

One of the soldiers spoke, "We managed to catch the runner. He was sneaky, we'll admit, but he was weak and wounded and we were quickly able to apprehend him."

The dark clothed gentleman peered into the cell, watching as a silvery mutant began to patch up his friend. He said in a creepy raspy voice, "What are their names?"

The soldier went to the cell, picked up a clipboard, and proceeded to list off the names, "Shaun Williams, JC Crandall, Tyreese Johnson, Chance Killard, and the new one: Thomas Daniels."

The old man nodded. No one could see it, but underneath his mask he was wearing a giant smirk. He turned, but right before he walked away he said, "Prep the newly caught one." He then began to walk away down the corridor, leaving the soldiers to stare after him. He whispered to himself, "This will teach them to never cross me again."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Christmas

 **A/N Soooooooo... ain't gonna lie. This is kinda a filler chapter, but I couldn't help it, and it's kinda adorable, and all that jazz... So warning for minor fluff, and uh... I dunno, warning for a certain Anity? Is that a thing?**

 _ **No it's not.**_

 **Shut up Anity! Get back in the book! Anyways... enjoy, and be aware I don't own most things except the characters you've grown to love. Also McDragonRider edited this. LIKE A FREAKING BOSS.**

* * *

Rose watched as every single one of her friends left for their families. It had been a while since the incident and now it was Christmas. She had never really had a real Christmas, but she always enjoyed it. Every year her family would do a little hangout of sorts. Chance would talk about his times when he was with his gang. Shaun and Tyreese would tell her some of their war stories. JC would, and she quotes, "spread Christmas cheer by singing loud for all to hear." Thomas would end it all with a Christmas story. A _real_ one.

It wasn't much, but it was her equivalent of a Christmas and she had cherished it. But now, as she watched all the children leave, she felt empty. She didn't have any family. She slowly walked back into the school. It felt quiet now. She was one of the only ones there. She was alone and afraid.

She silently went to her dorm room. She had promised Grace that she would look after PaperCut, given the fact that she was too afraid to bring him home. The moment she entered, the tiny paper airplane tackled her. She laughed lightly and watched as PaperCut transformed and hugged her neck. She was happy to know that the little plane had forgiven her so quickly. She was always so scared, but now she was fine.

She silently left the room, with little PaperCut balancing himself on her shoulder. She made her way to the gym, already in her outfit and went to the nearest punching bag. She stared at it for a moment as she tied wraps around her hand. She peered up as little PaperCut soared about. She smirked and looked back down at the punching bag. And then she swung her fist.

 **…**

After about two hours of punching bags, Rose came out of the gym. She watched PaperCut soar around as she slowly took off down the halls and right when she thought when she was alone, " _So… wanna go kill someone?_ "

She growled to herself and hissed, "Shut it. I'm in no mood to deal with your crap." She could almost hear the slow clap.

" _Wow… I'm very surprised Ose… I haven't seen you this confident in a long time_." Rose rolled her eyes and continued on, all the while ignoring the demon's beckoning, " _In fact… when was the last- Oh! I remember. It was that one time… at the hospital. You thought you could fight me off! But I'm a lot stronger than you! Oh… I gotta admit, I was impressed. You were doing well, until… well… you know. I got out_." Rose growled to herself and continued on.

PaperCut began picking up speed. He seemed to be sensing the strange aura that emanated from her. Rose sighed. He should be scared, it was it after all… She said calmly, "Well, I've gotten stronger. And unlike all those other people, these people do care. They try to help me and that means fighting off people like you." She could hear the sigh as it went silent. Well, at least it was gone for now.

She turned a corner and was greeted with a familiar blue elf. She blinked with surprise and he did too. Kurt asked, "Are vou alvight? I heard vou talking over here and I didn't know iv vou vere okay…"

She sighed and responded, "I… I'm fine. Thanks." She looked away quickly, a bit scared that he would ask about… _It_. Instead she walked by and whispered out, "I… I'm going to go to my dorm now…"

Kurt stopped her at the last moment by grabbing her arm. She flinched and peered back at him with frightened eyes. However his face wasn't angered or scared himself. He said calmly, "Vose, if vou ever need to talk to somevone avout vhat vou have veen through, don't be afraid to come to us. Alvight?"

She stared at him a moment more, right before looking down at his grip on her arm. She gave a tiny nod, before yanking her arm free. She began to walk away, not daring to look back at him. Little PaperCut flew about and would make tiny scratch like noses. Rose assumed this was him being worried. She spoke quietly, "It's alright. I'm okay."

He made a whirring noise and once they arrived at the dorm room, Rose opened up the door and he flew in. She smiled lightly and tossed her wraps aside, approaching the restroom. She stepped inside and stared into the mirror. She saw her inhuman eyes.

Why? Why was she so different.

" _Because you're a killer_." Rose growled to herself and _It_ backed up in her mind, " _Hey, I'm just speaking my mind. It's a free country, you know_."

Rose growled again.

 **…**

"Professor, I don't know what to do about Rose. She doesn't want to be here. I can see it."

"Scott, I understand that, but we have to let her know we care. She is scared enough as it is."

Scott paced around the room. He leered at the Professor, not in a threatening way, but a thoughtful way. He gestured towards the door and said, "But Professor. She has that _thing_ in her mind and as long as that thing is there, nobody here is safe!"

Xavier looked at him with shock and pity. He understood that Scott had had to face that creature inside of her, but how could he say such hateful things? He leaned back in his wheelchair and said, "Scott, give her a chance. You don't know what she has been through!"

Scott frowned and placed his hand on his forehead as he took a seat. He sighed and rubbed his face as well. "I don't know, Professor. I just don't feel the same with her around. I get that she was raised badly, but I don't know what to do about it."

Xavier still looked at him with shock. He said calmly, "Scott, she needs our help. Give her a chance. She doesn't really know the true meaning of family. She isn't intentionally doing this to us. It's the only thing she knows how to do. We need to show her other ways to care, other than fear. Give her a chance, Scott. Please." He repeated. "Remember Jean."

Scott looked up at the Professor to see a sad smile on the man's face. He huffed slightly and asked, "Then what should I do?"

Xavier gestured to him, "Talk with her. Let her know that you care and that you are there for her. Based on what I have seen, you are one of the few people she trusts enough to be around." Scott's eyes widened in shock. She did care? Xavier continued, "Why don't you do something to get to know her? How about you get her a present? As far as I know, she has never had a real Christmas."

 **…**

Rose slept in her bunk that night, her eyes wet with tears. She had been crying the whole week of Christmas. This would be her first year without them and she really wasn't looking forward to it. She closed her eyes and whimpered some more.

Before she even knew it, the door flung open and she shot up in surprise, quickly wiping away her tears. Standing in the doorway, was Kurt in some freaky sweater and a santa hat. She would never admit it, but he really did look like an elf. She watched as his face split open in a huge smile and he cheered out, "Vake up, Vose! Quickvy, ve need to get to the main hall bevore anyvone else!"

She looked at him questioningly, but he just kept grinning. He was such a child at heart. He teleported away and Rose eventually got up. She wandered into the restroom and changed into some clothing that Grace had "arranged" for her.

She stepped out of the room, tiny little PaperCut balancing on her shoulder. She wore a bright red sweater with some weird design on it, which Abigail had called an "Ugly Sweater," an odd santa hat, and a special necklace that looked like a snowflake. She still kept on her bandana, which was wrapped around her leg, and her sweatpants because she was way too lazy to change the rest of her outfit.

She wandered into the main hall, wondering why exactly she had been awoken. Once she appeared outside, she stepped back in shock. Some of the children were already there, and tearing into… presents? She watched in shock. There were tons of present around the tree in the center of the hall. She watched in shock, but her mood quickly fell. There was no presents for her. She already knew it.

She turned to leave, but suddenly PaperCut jumped off her shoulder and flew off. She flinched and chased after him. She whispered out, "PaperCut! Get back here-"

She paused as she watched him round a corner and land on a pile, a little bigger than the others. She stared at it for a moment and then frowned. She silently snatched PaperCut up and whispered, "PaperCut, that's not ours. You can't just-"

"Rose why don't you open your presents?" She spun around and saw that Xavier was in an ugly sweater too. He was sitting next to the pile and she looked at him in shock. It was hers? She slowly stepped forwards and looked at the stack. She looked at Xavier for further thought and he smiled and nodded. The biggest grin spread onto her face.

She launched herself towards the presents, examining each and every one. She looked back at him one more time to confirm her thoughts, and from the smile on his face, she took it as a yes. He then wheeled away, while little PaperCut landed on a gift. Rose smiled lightly and looked at him with question. She asked with a giggle, "Do you want me to open this one first?"

He nodded his head frantically and she peered at the red bag for a moment. Piotr? She opened it up and inside were some new hand wraps. She eyed them suspiciously and began reading the tiny note that was inside. _"I know when you change forms you don't have enough hand tape, so I got you some more. Merry Christmas!"_

She smiled a little. Her nerves were starting to relax. She sat on the ground and let her body go lax. She was calm and happy. She looked to another gift and picked it up. It was a box wrapped up in green paper. She eyed the label suspiciously. From all the teachers, huh? She ripped it open and inside was a tiny grey satchel. So they did know about her book issues.

She smiled and put it aside again. Soon, Kurt walked over and sat next to her. He had the largest smile on his face and she did as well, however hers didn't match his. He asked happily, "How are vou?"

She eyed the pile and soon looked back up, surprised to see Kurt holding a gift. She looked at it for a moment, a smirk crawling onto her face. She looked at him and said kindly, "You didn't have to get me-"

"Nonsense!" He cut her off, tossing her the present. She blinked with surprise and caught it at the last moment, watching as he sat there smiling. _Vworp!_ And as quick as he came, he left. She blinked with thought and looked down at PaperCut, who was just as curious as her.

She slowly peered into the bag and was surprised by the insides. She pulled out a leather notebook that had her full name embroidered. She graced over the letters and opened up to the first page. There was a tiny note written on it, _"I know how much you love theatre, and truth be told, I believe you will be an excellent stage director! So here is your notebook for all your thoughts and ideas! Merry Christmas!"_

She smiled lightly and placed that one away. She would _certainly_ be using that. She peered to the next present, which was the last one. She looked at the tag; it said it was from Abigail, Clare, and Grace, but with Grace's handwriting to the side of her name in parenthesis, _"Mainly from me"_

A tiny smile creased Rose's face and she looked at the bow. It had a giant sticker drawn onto the side that read _FRAGILE_. Rose peered at PaperCut and he had the same look of confusion so with careful handling, she opened up the little gift. Inside was a little piece of gold and white paper. She eyed it with question and looked to PaperCut, who had his head tilted in utter bewilderment.

She lifted the tiny paper and looked at it skeptically. She looked back to PaperCut and he was jumping around, looking at her with wonder and understanding. She was about to question the little plane, when she felt the paper begin shaking in her hands. Automatically, she dropped the paper as it began to transform. PaperCut flew to Rose's hair and hid within the silvery locks. All the while, Rose watched the whole transformation before her eyes with wonder.

It bent and twisted with ease, causing no tears or crinkles; just solid creases. Finally it transformed fully, revealing it to be _another_ tiny origami robot! It looked up at her with its paper eyes as it made a couple of chirping noises and went to hug her leg. Rose blinked.

She peered into the box and there was a note. She slowly outstretched a hand, trying not to bother the new bot. She lifted the note to her eyes and gave it a sweep over.

 _"Dear Rose,_

 _We are so happy that you came into our lives!  
You are the funnest person, even if you don't talk much…_

 _We know you have been though a lot, and we wanted to do something._

 _You need a friend at all times._

 _We know how much you love little PaperCut,_

 _but also how he can't be with you all the time._

 _So, Grace pitched in and created this little guy._

 _(His name is Sketch)_

 _He is the friend for you at all times!_

 _We know it isn't much, but we hope he means the world to you._

 _From your dormies, Grace, Abigail, and Clare_

 _P.S. We themed him off of Bumblebee."_

Rose glanced back down at the mini origami robot. He was… for her? Her own little friend? She smiled lightly and picked up the tiny robot. She said lightly, "PaperCut come on out and meet this guy." PaperCut peeked his head outside of her hair and peered at the nervous younger one. If he had eyes, he would have been blinking madly. He flew out of her hair and transformed back into a robot on her hand. He looked at the younger origami creation and tapped its shoulder, making it flinch in response, but peer up. PaperCut waved his hand, in a form of hello, and Sketch waved it right back. This would be an interesting week.

 **…**

Rose walked into the dorm room, both of the origami creations passed out in her arms. She smiled at the thought. She walked towards her bed and put them down, but paused. She did a double take. Indeed there was a present. She picked it up without a thought and examined it. Nameless.

She shrugged, ripping the package open and upon seeing the sight, she had to make sure that she didn't drop the frame. She raised her hand and placed it over her mouth, trying to contain her choked sobs.

It was _them_.

It was all them at the prison. Every single one of them sitting there, with her in the center. Smiling, well not everyone was smiling, namely Tyreese, but they were there. She could see them. She felt her eyes tear up and instead of holding them in she let them flow. She choked out a sob and fell to the ground, clutching the picture close to her heart. She missed them so much.

 **…**

Scott stood outside the room, listening to Rose's sobs of joy. He was somewhat thankful that those men had given him that picture. It was supposed to be in case he ever came across her, yet he knew better. It was meant for her. He walked away silently and whispered under his breath, "Merry Christmas, Rose."

* * *

 **A/N Just wanted to comment to a certain comment.**

 **metaskettu: I'm very happy I could inspire you with this story. I'm happy it gives you strength, it was what I was aiming for. :D**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: It's Permanent

 **A/N ERMAHTALOS I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT. Okay... I'm going to be totally truthful with you guys... so... I kinda pulled a stupid and got my laptop taken away from me and I was all like, "NOOOO I NEED TO UPLOAD SAID CHAPTER!" But then again it gave me and my editor, McDragonRider, a mini vacation of sorts. So... I dunno. But I'm legit sorry! Please forgive meh! Anyways... let's just say... Rose's life will get a little harder now...**

 **I do not own any character accept the ones I do own., oh and I do not own Raven. She is a real character.**

 **Enjoy~**

* * *

Rose sat on her bunk, stroking little Sketch's head who rested in her arms as PaperCut soared around the room. Sketch had been very helpful. He had managed to calm her through these hard times, especially after her friends had returned. PaperCut had flown right to them the moment they entered the door, but little Sketch had hidden within her hair. She wouldn't admit it, but her life was slowly becoming better.

Today, she walked slowly down the halls. Normally, she would have been arguing with the demon within her mind, yet with little Sketch there, the creature hadn't had a real reason to bother her. So she decided that all was well.

She silently roamed the halls, content with the simple bliss, right until she ran into someone. She was pushed and knocked onto her back. She moaned and sat up, rubbing the back of her head in the process. She frowned as she looked up, but her frown disappeared as she was met with the sight of a new mutant she hadn't seen before. Slowly standing up, she apologized, "I'm sorry, I should have been looking where I was going."

The girl peered up, her eyes flashing yellow before settling again. Maybe she had some kind of energy powers? Rose looked down again, thinking that she might be yelled at, but instead she was met with her voice, "No, I'm sorry. I was running down the halls." She took a moment to pause, "You're Rose, right?"

Rose nodded shyly, moving to gently pick Sketch up from the ground. He seemed to be, shivering? She gently stroked his head, in an attempt to calm him, but he continued to shiver like he was afraid of something. She was about to leave when the girl in front of her said calmly, "I'm Raven."

Rose looked at her shyly, a bit afraid that she would begin to ask questions. Rose replied, "It's nice to meet you. But I should get going..."

She moved to leave, but instead Raven grabbed her arm. She pulled her back and said calmly, "Wait, could I ask you some questions? I never got to formally meet you." Rose looked at her for a moment, before Raven began to speak, "Is it true that you killed other kids?"

Rose's eyes widened. How did she know about that? Rose ripped her arm from the girl's firm grip. She whispered under her breath, "Y-Yes…"

Raven's eyes widened in- amazement? Why? Raven managed to say to her, "Wow, that's incredible!" Rose's eyes widened in disgust, while in the back of her mind, the creature lurking in there tuned in to the conversation. Raven continued on with the topic, "So what was it like? To you know… _kill_ someone."

The voice in Rose's mind went into a fit of cackles before settling on saying, " _Wow… I'll admit I've met people I've thought I wouldn't kill. But man I will not kill this one. She seems to like my style…_ "

Rose felt some more fear creep in and she shook her head. She said calmly, "No, it was _anything_ but cool. So don't say it like that. When you have seen what I have seen then you would know." She looked away, holding Sketch closer to her chest in a form of comfort and gently stroking his head.

In return, the girl just stared at her in disgust. She said back, a bit of annoyance in her tone, "Wow, I can't believe Erik was right. You are a freak." Rose froze while _It's_ laughter continued to grow. "I was just asking a question, but I guess you are a monster. A wolf among sheep."

Rose looked down, her fear beginning to drip through the cracks of the barrier. The creature within her thoughts was readying itself for the attack. Rose spun around, ready to defend herself, but she was left in surprise. Raven was gone.

 **…**

Raven turned the corner, pressing her back into the wall, as a smirk crawled onto her face. She reached her hand up to her ear, pressing the link on her comm. She spoke, her voice changing all the while, "I have located the girl… she proves to be… useful."

 **…**

Rose shakily walked into the main hall, seeing that the other students were minding their own business. She looked around in fear, her thoughts beginning to dwindle.

" _Why is she looking at me?_ " One voice hissed out in wonder. In response, Rose looked around in terror. Did they really see her as a freak? Just like the others? She looked around a little more and one person was staring at her.

Her mind wandered too far and another voice got to her, " _Is that the girl who scared Abigail?_ " She looked around frantically, trying to pinpoint the owner of the voice, while at the same time starting to breath faster. Little Sketch snuggled closer into her neck, trying to soothe her raging mind.

Rose felt a hand touch her shoulder and she spun around. She stared into the owner's eyes. Her mind began spinning while at the same time everything around her was going dark and the creature chuckled darkly. The boy asked her calmly, "Rose, are you alright?"

Rose stared into the boy's kind eyes. They were familiar, yet her mind was too busy in scaring her thoughts away. She stared into the boy's eyes once more before managing to mumble out, "No…"

She blacked out, while the voice in her head managed to let out a creepy, ear piercing, howl of laughter. _It's_ laugh echoed in her mind.

" _Little Ose thought she was safe from her fear… Yet she didn't know… Fear doesn't leave…_ "

 **…**

Piotr rushed into the Professor's office. He was in the middle of a lesson, but just when the Professor was about to question him, he noticed the limp girl in Piotr's arms. He lost his voice and every thought in the room went silent. He could feel it. He stared at the limp girl for a moment before he finally managed to find his voice.

"Everyone leave. Class is dismissed." Everyone nodded, not even bothering to question Xavier's choice. They rushed out and Xavier quickly wheeled around the table, while Piotr rushed forward. Xavier gesturing to the chairs, saying, "Piotr, please prop her up with a chair. I need to enter her mind."

Piotr quickly made a makeshift table, placing the tiny girl atop the platform. Rose was struggling in her sleep; her body kept shifting and twitching every so often. Xavier wheeled over and placed his hands around her head; his mind melding with hers. Except by the time he entered, he was too late.

Rose screeched a terrible roar. Her body arcing up in pain, while her shirt ripped, revealing two new arms. Her face slowly faded away and her skin was replaced with a grey tint. Slowly, her body shifted to become larger, her hair turned black, and her mouth was replaced with daggers. She continued to screech. her yells of pain filling the whole mansion.

Xavier watched in horror. He could not fight this creature again. He quickly placed his hands on the sides of her head, wrapping them around her side horns. He closed his eyes and focused. It would take all of his power to control this demon within her.

Once he entered her mind, he was greeted by the sickening voice held within. " _You…_ " Xavier froze within her mind, not daring to make a move. He was afraid he would cause her distress so he stayed silent, while the creature prowled around him. _Its_ tentacles grazed across his face every so often, making Xavier flinch in fear. _It_ continued on, " _You stuck me in here last time…_ "

Xavier felt the creature start to travel into his mind, but he quickly sent it away, proclaiming boldly, "I gave Rose a chance. I know her weakness to you and I know how to heal her of your sickening ways."

He could feel the creature leer at him, but he only leered back. He let his mind roam, looking for the right area, before letting his mind roam more. Finally hearing the creature cry out in despair, he raced out of her mind, right before it could come and enter his own.

He let his hands fly back from her head, watching as Rose began to morph again. Her body shrunk a little, her skin lightened, and her hair turned white again. Her mouth closed, but right before it did, the creature whispered out, " _There is nothing to fear, but fear itself…_ "

Soon the mouth closed and was replaced by a pair of eyes. Soon, Rose took over instead of the other creature that roamed her mind. She was safe. For the time being. She was held down by Piotr the whole time, right until she transformed and went limp, making Piotr blink in surprise. He glanced to Xavier and asked, "What happened?"

Xavier continued to stare at the child in shock. Was she safe? Or was it still in her mind, lurking around… He slowly approached the girl, placing his hands at the side of her head. He entered her mind once more, but decided to keep his distance from the demon which lurked within. When he entered, it seemed almost… empty. Like there wasn't another mind crawling within. It was exactly as he had predicted.

He came out of her mind and soon another person rushed into the room. Logan. He spoke calmly, "You called, Charles-" He stopped as he saw Rose cringing in her sleep. He rushed to her and gave her a look over and peered up at Charles. He asked, "What happened to her?"

Xavier looked to Logan. His look stern and his mind set straight. He peered back over to Rose and gave a reasonable explanation, "The creature was coming back out of her mind. Something had triggered an episode. I couldn't pinpoint it, the creature was blocking out the memory from my reach, but…" He trailed off. He sighed and looked back at her cringing form. "I could not go through that creature again. There are too many children at risk of… _It's_ wrath."

Logan nodded, still giving her body a once over, trying to be sure that she wasn't injured in any way. He said calmly, "Then why did you turn her into this form? Couldn't you just fool the demon again?"

Xavier frowned. He shook his head sadly and his thoughts started to waver. He responded, "I'm afraid not. The creature in her head is smart. After the way I defeated _It_ the first time, _It_ would know that it was a trick. So I chose a different path. A theory that I had had for a long time." He dragged on, sitting there for a moment. He was frozen in thought. He said calmly, "I have permanently put her in this form."

Everyone was taken aback and staring at Rose's petrified form on the table. Logan asked, a bit angry overall, "Why? You know how much she hates her form already… so why curse her to it forever?"

Xavier faced him, surprisingly calm, even after Logan's rude comment. Yet he said replied, "I had a theory, that the other mind was only in her human form…" They had begun to catch on already, "So when she's in this form, the creature is _only_ in her fears. While she is in this form, _It_ barely exists and _It_ isn't able to bother her. _It_ will never fully leave, but at least now she is safe. She has a chance at having a free life."

Rose continued to grimace in her sleep, while Logan looked at her. The thought of her being stuck in the form made him wonder on what she would truly think. Gradually, Piotr picked her up and said, "Where should I take her?"

Xavier responded calmly, "Take her to her dorm. The girls will handle the rest. Just tell them that she needs to rest."

Piotr nodded and left the room.

 **…**

Piotr arrived at the room, gently knocking on the door and balancing the girl in his arms at the same time. Slowly, Clare opened the door, her hair a mess and her lipstick only half done. It seemed Grace had gotten her to do the blindfold makeup challenge again. The moment she saw Rose limp in Piotr's arms, however, she stepped forward and said, "What happened?"

Piotr looked down to the cowering girl and replied calmly, "The creature was coming out again and the Professor did the only thing he knew to do. She needs rest. He said to give her to you, for you would know what to do."

She nodded and spun around, screeching, "Abigail!" Piotr and Rose cringed from the sheer loudness and tone. When Abigail came out, she gasped and placed Rose's arm over her shoulder and Clare did the same. They carried her into their dorm and Clare called back, "Thank you."

 **…**

Thomas was thrown into the cell, his body limp and weak. The surgery had been long and harsh on his body, not to mention his now rearranged organ system. Yes, the madman had literally taken all of his organs out and replaced them. The worst part was that the doctor hadn't even put him on anesthetics. Thomas had watched it all.

Now he had a new scar to remind him of his horrors everyday. It was a long scar, all the way from the top of his chest to the bottom. He was so scared now. His whole body was in pain. The horror was glued to his memory. It was terrible.

Two guards stood outside the cell, watching in amusement as the others went to aid their now crippled friend. In the camera room, the madman watched, his mind teeming with new torture techniques, however his thoughts were interrupted by two other men: Harold and Kevin. They entered, moving to stand near him and looking at the monitor as well.

Harold said calmly, "We searched the mansion. She was nowhere in sight."

The madman grimaced, his face in utter rage. The other two seemed very used to this gesture. Kevin spoke, "We believe that she is there now, though." The madman tilted his head, indicating that he was listening. Kevin took a deep breath and responded, "We just received another massive energy surge from the mansion today. We believe that she has returned to the mansion."

The madman nodded. He looked down at a watch on his wrist and responded, "Then tomorrow go there and find her. Don't hold back. I want her. She was my most valuable resource."

Harold looked at the mad scientist and said, "What if we got her tonight, sir? Along with some… other _willing_ patients."

The man gave a chuckle which soon erupted into a fit of mad cackles. He nodded and stared at the monitor once more before saying, "I find that to be perfect… As they say, the more the merrier…"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Old Habits Die Hard

 **A/N Okay, you know what? I am very sorry for the wait. I kinda feel like a turd blossom and I would like to apologize for it.**

 **I don't own marvel stuff, only the characters I created.**

 **McDragonRider edited this. Like a boss.**

* * *

Rose awoke to an aching in her mind and a soreness in her body. She was surprised that her mind was more or less… empty. It was strange. It was as if- no.

She jolted fully awake at that thought and, as always, hit her head in the process. She rubbed it and winced a little at the jolt, but was shocked to feel two arms hold her up and another two rub her sore horns and forehead. Wait… four arms, horns, empty mind?

She looked down at herself and indeed, she was in her other form. Yet she had no recollection of changing into this form. Maybe she had passed out during a training session? No… today wasn't one of the Danger Room days… and wouldn't she have changed back by now? But what about Anity… wouldn't _It_ have pestered her in her dreams and filled them with nightmares?

But no, it was as if Anity had never existed and so Rose tried to change back to her normal, human self. She gave the command in her mind but nothing, _nothing_ happened. She sat there for a moment in confusion before trying again, this time using more of her power. The small gem glowed a little, but again, nothing happened.

This time she began to panic and her breathing quickened. She looked around frantically, her mind screaming for an answer, but to her dismay, none could be found. It must just be a bad dream, she concluded.

" _I'm afraid not my dear Rose._ "

Xavier.

Rose lifted her head, her breath hitching as she heard the Professor. She began to panic once more and she questioned aloud, already knowing that the Professor could hear her, "Why am I like this?!"

She could mentally hear Xavier sigh, " _Because had I not changed you to this form, then Anity would have shown up again. And I would rather not have_ It _ _show up and try to harm the other students anymore.__ "

She was about to retort back a statement, but she froze. Then why was she in this form? She knew that Anity was practically nothing when she was in this form, but why would he- wait. No. Unless- " _I did_." He answered and Rose's blood went cold.

She practically begged out, "N-No, please… Y-You couldn't have-"

" _I did._ " He interrupted and Rose felt her pain return. This couldn't be happening, " _It was my only choice, Rose. It was either you turning to this form forever, with an extreme improbability of Anity reappearing, or risking the lives of all of the students. I did what-_ "

"No." Rose practically hissed, venom dripping off of the single word, "Don't give me any of that 'I did what was right' crap." She could feel Xavier's shock through her telepathy, "I understand that you thought I was getting more used to this form and truthfully I have been adapting to it." She went silent, "But that never meant I _enjoyed_ this form. I tolerate it, I accept it, but I never wanted to be it. Now look at me!" She gestured to herself, even though she knew no one was present, "I'm my own demon!"

" _Rose!_ " Xavier practically boomed, " _You are not a monster! You are afraid and I understand-_ "

"No." Rose interrupted again. This time her objective was clear. She wanted to end this, "You have no idea what I have been through. Don't even claim to know what you speak of. You may be able to see memories, but you will never experience them." Xavier was about to interrupt again, but she shot back, "Why couldn't I have died that day?" She quickly shut off her mind from further intruders.

She was too filled with anger to even think about other things, but since she would now have to adapt to this form, she decided to go to the kitchen. She was beyond surprised to see that her three friends were _still_ asleep. Maybe she was just yelling at Xavier with her telepathy.

She shrugged it off and left the room silently, deciding to go to the kitchen and grab a glass of water. Upon arrival, she was more than relieved to find that no one else was around. She sighed and approached the fridge, quickly opening it up, and letting the cool air flow through her white hair, which was the one thing she was happy that she still had. At the same time, the night air combatted the cool air for the claiming of her hair.

She looked to the glass she had pulled out and paused. She raised one of her upper arms and rubbed the bridge of her nose, well… where it would have been at least. How the heck was she suppose to eat and drink now?! Yet as she pondered over this subject a far more important one claimed her mind. How was she able to feel the night air when she is indoors?

Taking a deep breath, she turned her gaze around, finding the kitchen window wide open with the curtains flying about freely. Her heart practically stopped. Someone was in the mansion and she had the worst feeling on who it was.

Suddenly, as she thought these thoughts, all of the lights flickered out. She supposed that no one would notice due to the fact that it was night and everyone was asleep. She swallowed, to the best of her abilities, and peeked out of the kitchen and into the dark halls. She was starting to really appreciate the fact that she had echolocation. But not the fact that she was about the size of a wall since even in the darkness, she could still be seen.

She stayed silent, not that she had made any noise in the first place, and listened. The tiny drip of a faucet left on in one of the restrooms. The doors swinging lazily on their hinges. The window in the kitchen rattling. The footsteps approaching from behind her.

Wait.

She did a complete 180 turn around and froze. It was… _them_. The men who took her the first time. The men who imprisoned her. The men who took her and tortured her and hurt her family. It was _them_.

Apparently, the men saw the glimmer of her eyes and immediately turned on a beam of sorts, placing red dots all over her exposed form. Their night vision goggles glimmered in the moonlight shining through the window. All the while that Rose was staring in terror, she heard a familiar click. An all too familiar click. The click of a tranquilizer. Her eyes went wider and time seemed to slow for her.

She quickly thought of the safest place she knew: the room in the lower levels. The room in which she knew she could not harm a single soul. The room where she had recovered and the room where Xavier had discovered the truth. The room in which she wished she could be left alone to rot. Yet, while she thought of these things, a single thought made its way to her.

It was room where she first put her trust in someone.

It was the smallest amount of trust, but that single word she had said to Logan, " _Fine_." It was enough to change her view on the institute. It changed her whole view on this place. She felt like these people were actually family to her and in the midst of her thinking, she heard a familiar _vworp_ and she felt the air around her change. She blinked once before listening silently and picking up no sounds, which technically made her blind. She tapped the ground, picking up a few soundwaves and managing to get a look around her.

She was in the room.

There was no way that she could be here… unless. She smacked herself on the head with one of her upper hands. She had teleported there through her thoughts. She could be such an idiot sometimes.

Yet deciding that now wasn't the right time to act like a bloke, she quickly gained her bearings. She approached the door and silently placed one of her hands on it, about to pull it open, but froze. She could always stay here and hide. It wasn't like they would find her here. She slowly felt her hand go lax, but suddenly tensed as a lingering thought crossed her mind. What would have her family had done?

She felt her heart wallow in pain. She felt like she was shaming her family. They would have jumped at the opportunity to save a fellow brother or sister in arms when against those… those _things_. Those creatures called officers of the law… Would officers of the law kill the innocent?! She felt her grip tighten on the handle again and she squinted her eyes into a glare at the handle. She would not put her family to shame.

She pulled the handle and was blinded by a bright light. If it were possible, her white eyes would have jumped out of their sockets. She lifted one of her hands to try and let her fragile eyes adjust to the sudden light. Once they were adjusted, she quickly pulled them down. She swallowed sorely and heard a familiar click along with something cold pressing up against her forehead: the barrel of a gun.

She took a deep breath and stared into the goggles of her captor. He seemed rather young, yet she knew better. Each of these men were trained for the hardest and toughest of jobs, even if that meant killing to get what they wanted. That was the exact look that this young man held in his eyes.

Rose was barely able to see, but managed to spot the shine of teeth against the blinding light. Suddenly it was followed by, what she assumed, was his voice, "I found the missing mutant. Report to door twelve." She heard another familiar click and her eyes went even wider. A tranquilizer.

By default, she snapped one of her right hands up. It was purely by instinct; Tyreese had taught her that… She ignored the thoughts and quickly hit his arm, making him wince and drop his gun. Swiftly, Rose ran past him and into the hall, soon seeing about ten other men on each side. She quickly raised her arms to defend herself.

Soon, she heard the familiar click of guns firing, making the halls flash with even more light in her eyes. She was starting to really pray that Xavier and Logan's training would help her. Her hands began to glow silver, making the room brighten ever so slightly. But she didn't just do that to try and make the room bright. It was for the bullets.

A silvery haze wrapped around each individual bullet, making each stop dead in its tracks. Rose flinched at the bullets' force. She was straining herself to try and not let them hit her. Once she felt all the force drain away from the bullets, she let her hands drop. The silvery haze disappeared and the bullets dropped as well.

The soldiers were readying another round to be shot and Rose was all but ready. Yet soon she heard a voice above all the silence that gave her chills. "Halt, soldier!" The soldiers froze, but kept their eyes on Rose. Two men stepped forward from the shadows, each footfall making the room erupt in a mass of color to Rose. But it wasn't the footsteps that scared her. It was the sounds of a muffled voice and the flailing of limbs.

Soon the two men appeared in her sights and her blood ran cold. Harold and Kevin. Yet that isn't what made her freeze in place. It was what they were holding. Harold held a certain girl she knew. Clare. The poor child was being held by her neck collar and was passed out, with a bit of blood trickling from her head. Rose cast her glance to the other figure, who was flailing with all of her might. It was Rogue.

Kevin stepped forward and spoke, "Now, now, little demon…" She hated it when he called her _that_ name. _It_ took it as a compliment. "We wouldn't want any casualties now would we?"

Rose froze again, watching as they both got out their shivs, carefully placing them on both their captives' necks. Rogue let out a strain of a whimper, while Rose stared at Clare in horror. She would stand no chance. Harold said calmly, "Now… how about you just hand yourself over to us and no one will get her. I promise."

Her logic wasn't working. She needed to turn herself in. Slowly, she felt her body hesitantly becoming lax. Rogue managed to cry out, "Rose, we can defend ourselves! You need to protect yourself!" Rogue was quickly interrupted by the shiv being pressed more into her neck.

The two officers gave each other a glance as they readied themselves for the ending blow. Rose practically screamed, "NO!" Everything went dead silent for a moment. Rose took another deep breath, but it didn't help keep her voice from wavering, "I-I'll come with you. P-Please… just l-leave them alone."

The two officers smirked and before she could witness a thing, she was tackled to the ground by a rather bulky man. She managed to pull her chin up just in time to see both Rogue and Clare go limp in their captor's arms. Rose managed to cry out as she felt the man behind her begin to strap her four wrists together in one bind. "NO! You liars! You backstabbing-"

She was interrupted by a cold sting in her neck. She just had a few gurgles escape her lips before her head hit the ground. She was still fully awake, but her muscles, voice and mind refused to argue with anything. She just had to watch as the men before her began to talk amongst themselves. Harold glanced to her, a wide manic grin crawling onto his face.

Rose, managing to grab what was left of all her logic and strength, choked out, "W-Why… w-why m-me? W-Why again?"

The man slowly approached her and leaned down and Rose watched as everything around her was beginning to black out. The edges of her vision darkened and her nerves became numb. She still managed to feel Harold's hand grace over her hair, not in a loving way, but in a sickening way. It was like what a jerk would do to a high school girl.

He answered, barely above a whisper, "Old habits die hard."

Rose was engulfed in darkness.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Home Sweet Home

 **A/N Okay... so... yes, I'm kinda late, but life has been extremely annoying! Do you know how freaking hard it is to focus when a man with a t-shirt that says life keeps chucking lemons at you?! That's right! It's pretty difficult! And with that said here is the normal jazz...**

 **I thought that PaperCut and Sketch needed more time to be seen... they're people (sorta) too!**

 **McDragonRider edited this (As per usual)**

 **I don't own anything sadly (Except mah characters)**

 **Enjoy~**

* * *

Rose couldn't see or hear anything. Everything around her was cold. She felt a bead of sweat roll down her face. The cold chilling air wrapped around her fragile frame and caressed her body in terrible ways. There was only one place in the world that she knew belonged to these things.

Home.

Home? Was that the right word to describe her prison? Or was it of better use to describe the jail cell in which she had hidden from others? All of these questions could be answered if she would just open her eyes. But the pain was to great. Her head pounded and she was surrounded, no, engrossed by fear.

She felt a shiver travel down her spine at the thought and as she felt that shiver she realized something. She couldn't feel the ground. In fact, the only thing she felt was the pain in her shoulders and wrists. It was as if she were...

Hanging.

Her eyes flickered open and she examined the room that held her. She was here. She _was_ home. She was back in the prison, in the room where she had first met Anity in the flesh and blood. She glanced up, praying that it was not the same room, yet to her dismay, it was indeed true.

Tubes and wires came down from the unseen ceiling while a pair of heavy metal chains wrapped around her wrists. All of them. She was in the same room. She quickly shifted, hoping that it was some sort of dream and she could just jump down, but the pain in her back said otherwise. She winced heavily and looked towards her rear to see tons of tubes and wires entering her body. Some fluids were entering her while others were being taken out.

That was when she finally began to break down.

Her eyes were flying everywhere in the dungeon-like room. Her mind racing across every small scratch and crevice, immediately recognizing them. She had spent a long time in this room and she remembered every little detail, down to the small piece of dust in a corner. Every stain memorized in its pattern and scent. Everything was remembered. Even the amount of blood that had dripped down her face in those days. She remembered it all.

She tried to think, but it just hurt. Her brain was thumping and pounding inside, like it had just gotten hit for the first time. But she knew better and she recognized the pain. This was no Anity nor telepathy. This was intrusion.

"And right you are, Rose, was it?"

Rose quickly switched her gaze to the sound of doors opening. She watched as a rather older man walked in. His eyes were covered by goggles, but they didn't hide the hideous scar on his face. Nor the bloody lab coat. It made Rose's stomach churn, but the more important thing was how he knew what she thought. The man smiled. It wasn't right. It was repulsive.

"Truth be told, Rose, I never really cared about your people's names. I find it unnerving, especially by _your_ looks."

Rose spat out, "Takes one to know one." Yet once the phrase came out of her mind she regretted it all. She felt a surge of pain rush through her mind, pounding and scraping along her skull's walls. It was the definition of pain in its purest form. Torture.

The man chuckled and said lightly, still unable to hide the pure evil in his tone, "Now, now, Rose. Don't strain yourself. Wouldn't want to hurt your head. In fact, I'm sure that if you did do something, that you would kill yourself." He chuckled and went over to a nearby lab table which Rose hadn't even noticed. She scanned it thoroughly and found multiple medical tools.

She swallowed, finding that her throat was dry and scratchy. Well… that was just great. She had no way of talking for she had no mouth and there was no way that she could use her telepathy. It hurt too much. She could do nothing.

"Correct," spoke the mad man. This caused Rose to raise a nonexistent eyebrow. The man turned around, wiping a blade off with a dirty cloth. It caused Rose to shiver. The man glanced up at her petrified form, but also found a hint of confusion. He hadn't told her! He said with a petrifying smile, "You're probably wondering why I know what you're thinking." He turned and gestured towards a small chip behind his ear, explaining, "This is connected to your brainwaves. Whatever you think, I can hear." An evil smirk crawled onto his face, "I recommend you be careful with your thoughts."

Rose took a deep breath and went silent. Not that she was speaking in the first place, but she just let her mind go blank. She didn't even trust herself to think of a single thing. So she stayed silent and let her mind go black, letting nothing get to her.

This would be a long day.

 **…**

Clare's head was pounding and she felt herself come to. She slowly let her eyes flicker open. Her head was swarming in pain. She let the world slowly come to, finding everything a big blur. She began to panic, thinking that she had somehow managed to blind herself.

"Kid, you alright?"

She quickly glanced around, not recognizing the male voice. She took a deep breath, unsure of what to do. She spoke softly, but clearly, "E-Everything is blurry. I-I can't see."

She heard a grunt followed by the voice speaking to her, surprisingly calm, "Don't worry kid. It's just the drugs wearing off. You'll get used to it."

She blinked once and noticed that indeed, her vision was clearing. After a while of adjusting, she found that she was in some sort of cell. The walls were a bleak grey, with some dark grey bars holding her back from the rest of the world. She glanced around a little and noticed a still form on the floor not far from her. Rogue. She scrambled towards her friend and shook her, worried out of her mind.

"She's fine, kid." She glanced back out the cell, finding that on the other side was yet another cell. A pair of glowing orange eyes stared her down in the darkness. Nothing but the eyes could be seen. She wanted to panic, but something told her that this person had no reason to harm her. So she just stared. The eyes glanced to Rogue and then back to Clare, "She's just out of it more than you are."

Clare blinked once before asking calmly, "Where are we?"

The man on the other side sighed, his glowing eyes glancing down to the floor. He answered calmly, "You would be in the New Jersey mutant's prison." Clare's face paled greatly. She slowly let her back slide down the wall and she looked quite ready to panic.

She placed her head in her hands, starting to feel her heart ache in pain. She was scared. She heard the voice from the other cell say, "You should treat that head wound of yours." Clare blinked and slowly brought up her hand and rubbed her head, soon bringing it down to reveal dried blood. She took a shaky breath, about to have another panic attack, when the man spoke again, "If you tear off some of your… nightshirt, you could wrap it around your head like a headband."

She looked to him hesitantly and looked to her shirt. Indeed, she was in her night clothing. She took a shaky breath, but this just made it all the more stressful. She tore it off and did as the man said, wrapping it carefully around her head. She soon finished and just sat there in silence. She took a shaky breath and said, "Thank you."

The man looked at her through the bars. She couldn't see it, but she could feel that he was smiling towards her. He replied, "You're welcome, kid." He paused and added in, "What's your name?"

Clare was silent for a moment and answered, "Clare Shauna." She took her own moment to pause and think, "You?"

The man finally stepped into the light and she was shocked by what she saw. It looked as if he was some sort of robot. A few streaks of black trailed down his body, while his skin was a pale silvery white. His hair was the exact same and his eyes glowed inhumanely. For some reason Clare recognized him, but couldn't quite place her finger on where she had seen him before.

He gave a smile and sat on the ground in the light, looking at her for a moment before responding, "Chance. Chance Killard." He smiled kindly and Clare couldn't help but notice the sadness held in his inhuman eyes.

She asked a bit softly, "If you don't mind me asking… why do you look so sorrowful?"

Chance's smile increased, not in a creepy way, but one that told her that he seemed to be remembering something. He shrugged painfully, which Clare also managed to spy, and he spoke, "You just remind me of someone I care about very much."

 **…**

Both PaperCut and little Sketch had been awoken by the sudden fling of Rose, along with her sudden disappearance. So they both decided to roam the halls together, PaperCut, trying to find his friend and Sketch, trying to find his caretaker.

They looked to each other. PaperCut, being the most familiar with the institute, guided them through the halls. They both stuck close to each other in fear of losing the other to the darkness.

After searching the whole upper levels and finding nothing, they soon came down to the lower levels. Neither of them were familiar with the surroundings at this point. Sure, PaperCut had been there before, but he had never fully been through it. They both came to a halt at seeing something that scared them both: blood.

Just a tiny drip on the floor, but to them in was as if it were a pool of blood. Who could have been hurt? Sketch chirped and PaperCut glanced in his direction to see that the tiny robot was holding a piece cloth in his hands. To be specific, it was a piece of Rose's robe. Sketch began to panic and PaperCut came to the tiny origami creation, trying to calm his younger counterpart.

PaperCut took the cloth into his own tiny hands. It was indeed Rose's. He would recognize it anywhere. He knew her clothing enough from the amount of hugs that he gave her for comfort.

He looked to Sketch, who he assumed had the same thought: they needed to return to the remaining girls. They both transformed into their paper vehicle forms and took off towards their dorm room.

 **…**

Rose hung loosely; her eyes huge, her body trembling. This man, called a doctor, had just stuck foreign substances into her body in an attempt to "learn" about her. However, she believed that he was trying to pry out her thoughts and learn where the other mutants were hiding. Yet, he would sadly admit, she was one tough cookie to crack.

He growled again at seeing her unresponsive form. Maybe he would have to take this to another level of pain. He increased the amount of acid-like liquid flowing through her veins and she tensed up greatly. Every single one of her muscles went stiff with utter pain. The doctor grinned wickedly and quickly stopped the amount flowing through her, knowing that if he used to much, he could kill her. And no one would want that… now would they?

He came to be in front of her again and looked at her. Still, patiently waiting for at least the smallest hint of where the mutants were, but instead, he was met with silence. He sighed heavily and decided to pursue another topic that lingered in his mind. "So tell me," He began, "how are you able to be in this form without losing control and going on a murder spree?"

Rose flinched a little as past memories came back to her. The one thing that she allowed herself to think of, knowing that the doctor would see them well.

She remembered it too well. She remembered losing control for the first time and going blank. Waking up here to find that she was still with the sanity of Anity. She could feel all the pain that fueled the demon's bond to her. As she hung where she was now, a clamp around her and multiple other restraints on her as well. Her clothes had been soaked in blood. But not her own.

That was the first time she had really, formally, met Anity. The first day, where she lost all hope in the demon. Not to mention what _they_ had inflicted upon her. The pain she had felt after having her back ripped into and her spinal chord poked at. All the while she was wide awake, but later she was bedridden for weeks. Tyreese and Shawn had had to do everything for her. Feed her, hold her, and do things that she was too embarrassed to even mention. It was too horrible to dwell on. They were the only ones who cared for her at the time. Yet she would always be afraid and speak to them about the screams that she heard. That was one bad thing about Anity. _It_ allowed her to witness every death and blood curdling scream that _It_ had. _It_ made Rose's sanity begin to drip away.

The doctor was silent for a moment, as he heard and saw all of the images. One thing was clear, this was the mutant he was searching for. An evil smirk grew onto his face. He glanced to Rose and spoke, "So… are you just a host? That creature… Anity, was it? It's just using you as a body." Rose stayed dead silent, but the more she thought about it, the more it was becoming true. "My thoughts are confirmed then…" He sighed, picking up some other unearthly torture device, "Then I'll just have to pull Anity out of you."

 **…**

A bloodcurdling scream filled the halls; so wicked and inhuman that it seemed like only a demon could make it. Every person that heard it flinched and winced. Some even tried to shrink in on themselves to try and get away from the pained yell. Yet some had other thoughts.

Tyreese, who had a cell right next to Chance, peered up. He had been listening to the young girl's conversation with him, but once the scream echoed through the halls everyone went silent. Everyone in that cell block, including a groggy Rogue who had just awoken from her seemingly endless slumber. Everything just went silent. It was as if some unseen tragedy had happened. And indeed, something had.

Each of them had recognized that scream. At least everyone that knew _her_. Tyreese spoke all of their thoughts, "Rose…"

JC looked to his friend in the cell in front of him. His features worried and scared, but in all the men's eyes they held a sense of hope. JC had a pained frown crease his face and he said, "Our little girl is being hurt."

Shaun looked to his friend from another cell and spoke, "She is strong." He cast a glance towards another cell as he began to hear some footsteps approach the bars.

Soon a hand reached up and gripped the bars. His head hung low, but his look said it all. The man named Thomas spoke, "She will survive. She is strong."

Chance held a look that sadly said otherwise. He said softly, his tone strained, "For now."


	20. Chapter 20

**Oh my lordy loo, I am so sorry for being gone, I want to sincerely apologize for that. Anyways, yeah I'm back. I kinda had some writers block and computer trouble so ya know, first world probs. So I promise that I'm back, but I cannot promise that this will be scheduled uploads.**

 **I don't own jack.**

 **McDragonRider is a dragon.**

 **Enjoy~**

* * *

Clare sat there silently for a moment listening to all of the men speak. They knew Rose? Then finally it all clicked. Clare had figured it out, all of the dots connected, and a light bulb flickered on in her brain.

She managed to choke out, "Y-You raised Rose." Every set of eyes fell onto Clare as she sat there, trying to take it all in. She managed to add in, "S-She always talked about you…"

Tyreese, who she hadn't heard say a word until now, spoke. His tone powerful yet gentle, "How do you know of her?"

Clare was about to speak, but Rogue came limping forward and sat next to Clare. She spoke, "She goes to our school. Someone came and just dropped her off one day. I'm guessing that someone would be you." She said, looking at Tyreese.

"Actually, that someone would be me." Everyone's attention was drawn to Thomas, who was holding his side in pain. He looked to Rogue skeptically; as if finding something that he didn't like too well. He asked calmly, yet his doubt was still clear in his tone, "Your tone… what do you think of Rose?"

Rogue, obviously having not heard Clare's story on how they were technically Rose's family, spoke her mind. "She's a drama queen. I know pain, but she's just a murderer. She isn't safe to be around normal mutants." By the looks the men were giving her, she quickly put the pieces together. Her eyes widened and she stumbled out, "I-I didn't-"

"No." JC spoke. His tone evident that he didn't want to hear any more from the girl, "You don't know pain. Rose has practically been through hell and back." He was gripping the bars with all his might, trying not to let his rage pour out.

Shaun spoke this time, his rage a bit more evident, "You don't know what you speak of when you speak of pain. She was never loved by her parents. She has nothing to compare herself to but that _fear_ inside of her! The only thing that was keeping that creature at bay at first was us, but then she had to leave for her own safety. She has lost everything. And she remembers every death, unable to forget that she wasn't in control, but that creature lurking inside her forced her to watch. She has experienced more pain than anyone else here."

Rogue seemed to have something dawn upon her. As if a weight had been lifted and she realized her fault. She was just scared. Once she had taken some of her thoughts away from Rose, she was terribly frightened. She had kept her true thoughts away from Rose, hiding it behind fear and anger. And she…. she thought that _It_ came out that day because of the revenge she wanted on herself. But no. _She_ had caused that. She cued that fear in Rose by making her think she was unwanted. It was _her_ fault. She was just too afraid to admit it.

"It ain't your fault, kid." Chance spoke. Obviously seeing Rogue's distress. Chance added in, "Most people get that view on Rose. She may seem like a drama queen at times, but she is just… scared. She's panicky about everyone. She constantly feels like everyone she cares for and makes even the smallest of relationships with will die by her hand. That's why she is always nervous and shies away from things. It's also why she keeps quiet about that thing in her mind." He cast a glance to the two girls, "How would you feel, if you had a voice in your head every day, begging to shed the innocent blood of others?"

The two of them shuddered and Rogue seemed suddenly downcast. "You saw it didn't you?" Tyreese interrupted Rogue's thoughts, making her panic a little. She cast her gaze up to the rather large man. "Something tells me, you saw a glimpse of that pain she has. That's why you treat her this way. Because you're scared." Rogue's look said it all. Tyreese sighed and gave a smile of encouragement, "Don't worry, kid. I understand. You're still young. You're just scared. It's natural for people at your age."

Rogue still looked dejected. She sighed and spoke, a bit saddened by her own voice, "I… I just let fear get to me. I should have really gotten the time to think about it, but instead I just pushed it away. Because I was scared." She smiled softly and said, "I of all people know what it means to be scared."

Thomas looked at her for a moment before asking, "What are you scared of?"

Rogue seemed hesitant in answering. "I… I'm scared of touching people." It seemed that the others were going to comment, but she continued, "My powers allow me to take away the life force and mutant powers of others. I'm always scared of doing this, because I could kill people if I hold them for too long." She looked downcast once again and to her surprise someone spoke.

"I'm sorry." It was Shaun.

Rogue looked to the man for a moment. She could see the hurt in his eyes. He knew what it meant to be afraid too. She looked around to all the eyes. They were _all_ full of fear. Even Clare. Rogue looked down, silencing herself from the topic.

Another blood curdling screech echoed throughout the prison halls.

Each of the people winced in utter pain at hearing the familiar screech. JC approached the bars, pounding on them rapidly and crying out, "We need to get her! We need to save her! They're torturing her!"

Shaun stood and hissed out, "What do you think we want to do? We would be on a rampage in this cell if it weren't for these!" He did a complete 180, revealing the crow-like wings on his back, which both startled and surprised Rogue and Clare. Soon he pointed towards the cuff-like holders that were holding his wings in place. "Then we would be out of here!"

Clare and Rogue looked around at them, and noticed that, indeed each of them had something holding their powers back. Tyreese and JC had a pair of tightly wrapped cuffs around his wrists. Shaun's was pretty obvious. Chance had a pair of steel bag-like structures on his hands, with cuffs wrapped around those too. Unfortunately Thomas had the worst of it. His body was wrapped up in some sort of straightjacket and he was strapped to the wall. He was able to just wiggle into the light to be seen. But all of them had some sort of weird collar around their neck.

Clare shivered. What kind of person does this to another person? What sick person would do this? She was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a pair of feet running down the corridor. Both she and Rogue looked to each other. Soon Rogue stood again and approached the bars. She saw a man running down the halls towards them. She took a breath and called out, "S-Sir! Please! I need a glass of water!"

The man that was running down the hall slowed his pace, turning to look to the cell that held both Rogue and Clare. The others looked at Rogue in confusion, then to Clare, who had her eyes wide and mouthed the words, "Play along." They all nodded.

The man looked at Rogue, his eyes in a fixed glare. Rogue put on her best acting face and made it look like if she didn't get water then she would die. The man grimaced and spat out while he leaned forward towards Rogue, "And why should I care about _your_ kind?"

Rogue suddenly went normal and shrugged. She replied calmly, "Because I'll do this." She sprang her hand out and grabbed the nearest piece of skin that she could see. The man didn't even have time to react. His eyes went huge as the life drained away from him. Rogue withdrew her hand and the man slumped to the floor.

The others just blinked and Shaun managed to say, "You weren't kidding when you said you couldn't touch others." Rogue grunted, but more towards the soldier. Whatever she had gotten was repulsive. She backed away and gestured for Clare to step forward.

Clare leaned down, placing her hands on the sides of the dead man's head. She hoped that she could find something useful in his dreams. She searched through every dream, every memory he had, hoping to find some form of a dream that would be helpful. She stopped as she saw a nearby dream; this one being much more recent.

She quickly approached the memory and stepped inside. She saw her soldier talking with some older ones. One of the seemingly older soldiers spoke to her. "We have a breach in the west wing. Make sure that it's taken care of immediately."

Clare rushed out of the memory-like dream. She looked to the others and spoke, "Where is the west wing?"

Chance threw his head in the direction and said, "Right down this hall. The way he was heading. Why?"

Clare looked down in shock. She looked back to the man and answered, "He was coming down here because of a breach. Any ideas on who it could be?"

JC scoffed, drawing most of their attention. He leaned up against a wall and looked down in the direction that the man was running. He said calmly, "Probably another bird." They gave him a flat look and he shrugged, "You know it's true. This would make it the seventh bird this month."

They continued to give him a dead look, until another scream echoed through the halls. They all winced once again, while Clare slumped against the wall. She looked down to her hands and managed out, "I can't believe she had to live here for most of her life…"

Tyreese caught this comment and he gave her a sympathetic look. He spoke, "Trust me, she never wanted it. In fact she…" He swallowed, obviously trying not to remember too much of the horrible memories, "She tried to kill herself before she arrived here."

The two girls faces paled, especially Clare's. She knew what it felt like to lose hope in humanity, to feel as if the only option out of the misery was death. Thomas leaned back against the wall and managed out, "When she was in those woods… Anity was affecting her greatly. Whispering the memories of the children she had…" He trailed off, "You see… if Rose dies, then Anity will take Rose's place. Anity wants a real body, which means _It_ will do anything. Rose was so close to killing herself. Had it not been for those hunters, you might have never met her."

Clare blinked. That was a lot to take in… She knew that Rose was raised in fear, but she didn't know it was this bad. She looked to Rogue. She had the exact same look on her face: shock and pity. They both looked down in pain for their friend. They felt terrible. How could their friend have lived through this?

"It ain't your fault, kids." Chance spoke, which drew their attention. He smiled softly and continued, "She's just scared. Do you know how long it took for her to completely gain trust in us? She treats us as her family, which we are honored with. Yet we are still pained by it all. You just need to show her the love that she never had. I promise," He paused for a moment in thought, "she will come along."

A scream echoed throughout the prison and they winced again. But this time, the scream of pain was followed by a loud crash, from right down the hall. The gazes of everyone there went to the end of the hall where the soldier would have been by now. Dust swarmed the building and everyone closed their eyes and began to cough. JC spoke, "Okay… probably not a bird…"

Soon, the sound of alarms and shuffling feet greeted their ears. Clare and Rogue coughed in the dust and looked out of the cell. Emerging from the gloom was a glowing red visor. There was a clicking sound and the cell door swung open on its hinges.

"Scott!" Clare exclaimed, the joy and relief evident in her cry.

He rushed towards them and leaned down, placing a hand on both of their shoulders and asking, "Are you okay?"

Rogue nodded, but Clare spoke quickly, "We have to find Rose!"

They were both pulled out of the cell and finally saw the large group of people who had come to rescue them. Bobby, Kurt, Ororo, Piotr, Abigail, Grace, and Logan were all there. All with their guards up and ready to battle anything. Bobby rushed forward and wrapped Rogue in his arms, not afraid if he touched her skin. Abigail and Grace rushed towards Clare, wrapping their own arms around their friend.

Scott was silent for a moment, letting them have their reunion. He turned and was about to leave, but he noticed both Rogue and Clare rush towards the other cell, trying to pull off the lock. Scott's eyes widened and he cried, "Careful! We can't-"

"It's them Scott!" Rogue hissed out. "It's Rose's family! We can't leave them here!"

 **…**

"Follow us." Spoke Tyreese to the group. They had just gotten out of their cells and Scott was busy blasting their handcuffs off. JC was busy helping Thomas stand up, since he was still sore.

They took off down the halls. Groups of soldiers would greet them every so often, but of course, the X-Men were quick to be rid of them. They rushed forward, not bothering to even acknowledge the soldiers presence. Right up until-

"Get down!" Shaun cried.

Everyone got to the ground just in time to watch as a group of soldiers fired their weapons. Everyone quickly got back up and began to attack the foes. The five prison mates looked down. Shaun and Tyreese both looked to each other, the same thought going through their minds. They nodded and Shaun jumped into the air and spread his wings. Tyreese began running at full speed, charging towards their enemies.

Tyreese soon knocked into all of the men, making them stumble back, while Shaun hit them all with his wings. The moment he got one of them to fall to their back and drop their weapon, he made a grab for it. The X-Men ran down the hall, until Thomas called out weakly, "Wait…"

Everyone spun around to face the limp man. Thomas threw his head over towards a door and replied, "I can feel her pulse… it's weak… it's coming from inside of there…" He almost fell again, but JC caught him at the last moment. Soon with Tyreese coming over and facing the door. He threw his fist into the door, causing a loud bang, but nothing happened. He growled.

Chance stepped forward, "Let me have a go." He said, his hand transforming into a saw blade at the same time. He earned a few surprised gasps from the X-Men. Chance collided his metal hand with the door, making it shudder and wheeze until it fell forward, making a loud thud as it hit the ground.

Once they all peered inside, they were starting to regret the decision they had made.


End file.
